The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the epicentres of the global Mpox health crisis.
The province of North-Kivu is particularly hit. It is home to millions of displaced civilians and the threat of Mpox, which has been raging since the start of the year is getting ever more dangerous.
Volunteers from the Red Cross and other NGOs have stepped up efforts in Nyiragongo, near the provincial capital, to raise awareness among the internally displaced who are particularly vulnerable.
They live in makeshift shelters where poor living conditions can only accelerate the spread of the virus.
Wearing protective equipment, the volunteers decontaminated the shelters.
“What we’re doing is very important because, communities need to learn how to prevent an epidemic, they need to know what to do to avoid the spread of the disease and to limit the number of deaths in the province. And that’s what we are teaching them,” BĂ©atrice Omar, a Croix-Rouge official said.
Over the weekend of August 17th and 18th, local authorities recorded 5 cases of Mpox in the Kanyaruchinya camp, one of the world’s largest displacement camps.
At the Don Bosco camp, a neighbouring camp, no case has been reported but fear is palpable. Suzanne has been living here for the past two years after she fled the city of Rutshuru following clashes between the army and M23 rebels.
“We left our homes because of war, now a disease will kill us”
This mother of three calls on the government to take urgent measures to avoid the worst-case scenario.
“We’ve been told that this Mpox epidemic has already spread to other displacement camps. It is deadly and people die rapidly, so we are fearful. If it spreads to here, many of us will die because this camp is so crowded,” the mother of three says.
“I would like the government to come to our aid. We have fled our homes because of the war, now it is a disease that will kill us.”
The Muningi isolation center, which is located about 10 kilometres from the provincial capital Goma, records new mpox cases every day. Health professionals talk about an influx of patients.
READ ALSO: DRC to receive Mpox vaccines next week
According to the DRC’s Health ministry, more than 17,000 suspected or confirmed cases of Mpox have been recorded in the country since the outbreak of the epidemics. And over 570 people have died.
The government is supposed to start dispatching vaccines this week. While no shipment had arrived in the DRC by August 23rd, the Health ministry that the USA had committed to sending 50,000 doses while Japan, pledged to send 3.5 million doses.