Ebola survivors in Beni share their experiences with students as the school year begins again.

The association of Ebola survivors in Beni, located in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the heart of the Ebola crisis, conducted an awareness session for students as classes began last week.

Survivors addressed students while authorities struggle with the outbreak, which has claimed nearly 3,200 lives out of over 6,600 confirmed cases.

Gisèle Nziavake expressed her purpose was to raise awareness and "share our experiences and impart the lessons learned."

Rebecca Kahindo Kaputu, a teacher at Mapambazuko Elementary School, highlighted numerous difficulties.

"Initially, we have water faucets, but we can go two, three, or even four days without any water. Additionally, we do not even possess a thermometer (to check temperature)," she mentioned.

The Ebola outbreak is currently spreading across six provinces in eastern Congo under extremely challenging circumstances, exacerbated by rebel violence, displacement, and significant population movements.

A fragile healthcare and surveillance system hampers responders, alongside inadequate contact tracing and laboratory testing.

Containment efforts have also been hindered by the absence of an approved vaccine or treatment for the rare Bundibugyo virus responsible for the outbreak.

Authorities have commenced vaccinating frontline healthcare workers with the Evrebo vaccine, which the World Health Organization suggests may provide some level of protection against Ebola, though there is no definitive evidence it would be effective against the current strain.

Health officials indicate that the actual magnitude of the crisis is likely three times greater than official figures, as the disease continues to outpace containment efforts.

The World Health Organization has predicted that this outbreak could exceed the deadliest in history, the West Africa outbreak from 2014-2016, which resulted in over 11,000 fatalities.

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