The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), currently the epicenter of a widespread mpox epidemic, launched its long-awaited vaccination campaign against the virus on Saturday in the eastern city of Goma, according to AFP journalists. The campaign had initially been slated for the previous Wednesday but was postponed by three days due to logistical challenges in transporting vaccines across the vast, infrastructure-challenged nation in central Africa.
The first doses were administered to healthcare workers, with plans to extend the vaccination effort to the general public starting Monday in the eastern region, where the current mpox outbreak originated a year ago. Local health officials, alongside workers from non-governmental organizations, set up large tents to facilitate the vaccination process and prominently displayed banners reading: “Mpox exists.”
Romain Muboyayi, Chief of Staff at the DRC Health Ministry, spoke in Goma on Saturday, vowing that the country would engage in an “all-out fight” against what he described as a “treatable and avoidable disease.”
In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized that the vaccination drive adds “a crucial measure to complement ongoing efforts to control the outbreak and save lives.”
So far, the DRC has received 265,000 doses of the mpox vaccine, including contributions from the United States and the European Union. However, the country is still awaiting millions of additional doses promised by France, Japan, and the United States.
Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba reported that the DRC, one of the world’s poorest nations, has recorded more than 30,000 mpox cases this year alone, resulting in 988 deaths, underscoring the urgent need for widespread vaccination and continued efforts to curb the epidemic.
