Kinshasa – A significant breakthrough in the fight against mpox was made today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as it commenced vaccination efforts. This crucial step is aimed at supplementing current outbreak control initiatives to curb the virus from spreading and protect lives.
The initiative, which kicked off in the eastern part of North Kivu, will first target healthcare staff and frontline personnel. Initially, priority will be given to individuals who have been in contact with confirmed cases, their contacts, and other vulnerable groups. The vaccination will gradually extend to 11 critically affected health zones across Equateur, North Kivu, Sankuru, South Kivu, Sud-Ubangi, and Tshopo provinces.
An impressive 265,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine have been donated by esteemed partners such as the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, Gavi—The Vaccine Alliance, and the US Government, to support the Democratic Republic of Congo in this endeavor.
“As efforts to cripple the mpox outbreak gain momentum, deploying the vaccine is vital to not only halt the virus but also bolster the safety network of families and communities,” remarked Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Vaccines form a pivotal component in outbreak management, and we are sincerely grateful to our allies for their generosity. Our collaboration with national authorities strives to ensure effective vaccine deployment to the most affected individuals.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) underscores that immunization should be part of a wide-ranging strategy, which includes heightening surveillance, boosting community engagement, conducting contact tracing, implementing public health guidelines, and managing cases appropriately. WHO is synergizing efforts with national authorities to amplify and solidify all essential control measures to safeguard lives and quash this outbreak.
In fortifying the ongoing strategies against the outbreak, more than 300 seasoned WHO experts, integral to polio eradication in the region, have lent their expertise to the fight against mpox. These professionals bring a wealth of experience from their extensive fieldwork in public health, particularly emphasizing community-centric surveillance, thorough case investigations, detailed contact tracing, and proficient risk communication. They have been forefront warriors in battling polio and other preventable diseases.
WHO has offered substantial support in preparation for the mpox vaccination effort, aiding national health authorities through various avenues—training healthcare workers, enhancing logistical frameworks such as cold chain management, ushering in community involvement, and refining processes for overseeing and evaluating vaccine delivery quality. Concurrently, efforts are underway to counter false narratives around vaccines and engage extensively with community and religious influencers to provide accurate information.
Given Africa’s limited mpox vaccine availability, WHO’s inclusion of MVA-BN in its prequalification list last month makes it the pioneer mpox vaccine under this status. This advancement is anticipated to expedite access for communities urgently needing this essential vaccine to reduce virus transmission and manage the outbreak.
In collaboration with partners like Gavi and UNICEF, WHO is engineering a distribution framework to allocate doses provided by donor countries and facilitate direct purchases from the vaccine manufacturer.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has faced over 30,000 suspected or confirmed cases and 990 fatalities since the year began, contributing to a staggering 90% of total cases reported across 15 African nations thus far.
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