Epicenter of the mpox epidemic, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has recorded more than 30,000 cases and nearly 990 deaths since the start of the year, according to official figures. The vaccination campaign began this week, but it does not meet the needs.
The highly anticipated start of vaccination operations in the central African country, which concentrates 90% of cases of the disease previously called monkeypox, according to the WHO, was announced on Saturday with the injection of the first doses into caregivers at the hospital in Goma, capital of North Kivu (east).
South Kivu, where the current epidemic was detected a year ago, alone has more than 8,400 cases and 45 deaths. The province is due to receive 200,000 of the 265,000 vaccines the country currently has in its possession but has only received just under 30,000 at this stage, according to provincial health authorities.
Fifty times Switzerland
Vaccination in the DRC began with a delay, in particular because of difficulties in transporting the precious vaccines to a country with poor infrastructure and the size of Switzerland fifty times.
The disease affects populations who are already in extreme precariousness and who can more easily develop more complicated forms of mpox
In a country where nearly seven million people have fled fighting and are living in these camps, time is running out. For the NGO Doctors Without Borders, the epidemic represents a time bomb here.
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“The disease affects populations who are already in extreme precariousness, with promiscuity, who do not have access to sanitation and the necessary infrastructure and who can more easily develop more complicated forms of mpox,” deplores Virginie Napolitano in 7:30 p.m. , emergency coordinator for Médecins sans frontières.
Only for adults
To reach the town of Bukavu in South Kivou, the doses which must be kept at a temperature of -20°C were first transported by plane from the capital Kinshasa to the east, before transiting by boat, then by helicopter.
The DRC, among the five poorest countries on the planet, received 265,000 vaccines last month donated by the European Union and the United States. These doses from the Danish laboratory Bavarian Nordic are currently only approved for use in adults.
The Congolese government is awaiting other donations and is holding discussions with Japan for the delivery of vaccines for use in children. Mpox is currently present in 16 countries in Africa, according to the African Union health agency (Africa CDC).
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