STORY: DR Congo receives 1st batch of mpox vaccines
SHOOTING TIME: Sept. 5, 2024
DATELINE: Sept. 6, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:58
LOCATION: Kinshasa
CATEGORY: HEALTHSHOTLIST:
1. various of arrival of mpox vaccines in Kinshasa, DR Congo
2. SOUNDBITE (French): ROGER KAMBA, DRC health ministerSTORYLINE:The first batch of 99,100 doses of mpox vaccines was delivered to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the epicenter of the global health crisis, on Thursday.
Roger Kamba, DRC’s health minister, said at Kinshasa’s N’djili Airport that the country will contain the virus as quickly as possible, especially in the most affected provinces, such as South Kivu and Equateur.SOUNDBITE (French): ROGER KAMBA, DRC health minister
“We will receive about a total of 200,000 doses of mpox vaccines in the first batch. Today, we received 99,100 doses. The rest will be here this Saturday, which will make a total of 200,000 doses. We are in the middle of a micro plan, which is to know who should get the vaccines and which region should the vaccines be delivered to, as we have many hotspot regions in our country (affected by the mpox).” “It is first the vaccines for adults that have arrived,” the health minister said, adding that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will be in charge of the vaccination campaign in the most affected provinces, without specifying the date for the launch of the vaccination.According to a statement released on Wednesday by the World Health Organization (WHO), the DRC Ministry of Health plans to start rolling out the vaccines this weekend. “Vaccines alone will not be enough to stop these epidemics,” warned the WHO, calling on stakeholders to strengthen surveillance, risk communication, community engagement, clinical and home care, and coordination.
The DRC, which declared a national mpox epidemic at the end of 2022, has reported more than 18,000 suspected cases, including 629 deaths, since the beginning of this year, with four out of five deaths being children, according to a statement released by UNICEF on Sunday.
The WHO declared mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, a public health emergency of international concern in mid-August, warning of the potential for increased transmission of the disease globally. The WHO declaration comes after the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deemed the ongoing mpox outbreak a public health emergency of continental security.Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kinshasa.
(XHTV)
