The initiative aims to stop the spread of preventable diseases such as polyomyelitis, measles and yellow fever that remain a persistent threat in difficult areas to achieve.
Quick response
WHO delivered 79 external engines, two fast boats, 14 motorcycles and other essential equipment with a value of $ 750,000 to the country’s Ministry of Public Health to expand vaccination campaigns in 89 health areas in nine provinces, the agency said in a press release on Tuesday (in French).
“These ships and vehicles will allow health workers to quickly reach children and communities that have been separated from essential services.“Said Boureima Hama Sambo, who representative in the RDC.
“This will significantly reduce the number of lost vaccines and ensure that no child is vulnerable to the diseases that we can prevent.”
This will significantly reduce the number of lost vaccines and ensure that no child is vulnerable to the diseases that we can prevent
– Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, representative
Fight against preventable diseases
The Congo River and its many tributaries form a vast network of isolated islands and remote settlements, particularly in provinces such as Équateur, Mongala, Tanganika and Tshopo.
Many of these areas house a large number of children not vaccinated, which leads to repeated outbreaks of polio, measles and yellow fever, according to WHO.
In 2024, the DRC confirmed 25 cases of poliovirus of circulating variant (types 1 and 2) and reported more than 102,500 suspected measles casesresulting in more than 2,200 deaths. Meningitis also remains an important concern, with 5,837 suspicious cases and 465 deaths last year.
WHO and RDC authorities have been working to address these challenges through mass immunization campaigns.
“Improvement of the availability of vaccines and other vital supplies of health in the branches, areas and health areas of the Immunization Expanded Program (EPI), It is essential to strengthen the health system and implement advanced and mobile vaccination strategies. Integration with other health services will make a difference, providing significant benefits to the most vulnerable populations, ”said Dr. Sambo.
Dr Congo displaced families due to unbridled insecurity.
MPOX outbreak in progress
Even while the country fights the preventable diseases of vaccines, the RDC continues to face a great outbreak of MPOX. Between January 1 and March 2, 2025, The country registered 2,415 confirmed cases, with 1,080 of them occurring only in the last six weeks.
Who has declared the resurgence of Mpox an emergency of public health of international concern (Pheic) and warned that the virus is circulating in at least ten provinces.
The outbreak is being fed by a sustained transmission from humans to humans, particularly in the capital, Kinshasa, where genomic sequencing indicates that a specific strain has persisted since July 2024.
Impact of violence
To complicate response efforts, it is continuous violence in the East RDC, which interrupted medical care services and made it difficult to track and contain the virus. In February, the virus was first detected in the province of the Central-South of Lomami, further expanding its reach.
WHO is also monitoring new cases of MPOX related to trips that have emerged outside the country, even in Belgium, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Meanwhile, South Africa has reported its first group of MPOX cases linked to the same strain that circulates in the DRC.
