Fear of catching the Ebola is seeing some residents in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s north-east Ituri province avoiding hospitals for essential healthcare services, including for births and immunisations. Dhedda said many healthcare workers at Bigo Hospital have been afraid to treat Ebola patients because of the lack of adequate personal protective equipment. "The infection prevention and control kits we received today will help us strengthen these measures,” he said adding that they can now can “treat patients without fear". The WHO chief was previously in the DRC at the end of May in the north-eastern province of Ituri where nearly 90 per cent of Ebola cases have been identified. The five affected provinces in eastern DRC have a weak state presence and healthcare infrastructure is largely lacking.