The Democratic Republic of Congo has moved up the start of its mpox vaccination campaign to October 2, a week earlier than initially planned. The decision comes as the country grapples with an escalating outbreak of the virus, which the World Health Organisation recently declared a global public health emergency. Cris Kacita, Congo’s outbreak response chief, explained that improvements in procedures allowed for the earlier launch.
So far, Congo accounts for 91 per cent of Africa’s 5,500 confirmed cases, with 643 related deaths this year. Hence, there is need for coordinated disease control efforts. The 10-day vaccination drive will target adults, including healthcare workers, park rangers, and sex workers, across six affected provinces.
Congo has already received 265,000 mpox vaccine doses from the United States and the European Union, though this is far short of the three million doses needed. Additional vaccine donations are expected from France, Belgium, and Japan, with the latter promising 3.5 million doses for children.
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