The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced the donation of 80 tons of medicines to three provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as part of its support for the national plan to combat monkeypox.
In a statement, the UNICEF office in the DRC explained that it delivered 80 tons of medicines to the authorities of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri provinces to enhance the care of monkeypox patients in these areas. Mariam Silla, UNICEF’s Deputy Representative in the DRC, stated, “Monkeypox affects many children.”
The governors of the provinces that received the donations praised UNICEF’s support, noting that this contribution alleviates the suffering of patients affected by this epidemic.
It is worth noting that local health sources in South Kivu revealed that at least 7,889 people have been infected with monkeypox and 43 have died as a result of their infections in the past nine months, since January 2024. More than 90% of monkeypox infections are concentrated in the DRC out of more than 30,000 cases reported in 15 African countries since the beginning of the year.
The recent outbreak of monkeypox, now referred to as mpox, has been declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO). The outbreak has led to over 100,000 confirmed cases globally across 122 countries as of mid-2024, with a significant concentration of cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This highlights a substantial increase in infections compared to previous years, with notable spreads to other regions, including cases linked to international travel to and from affected African countries.
The outbreak predominantly involves the mpox virus clade I and clade II, with clade I being more prevalent in the African continent. In Africa alone, over 20,000 cases have been reported in 2024, including significant fatalities. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) continues to monitor the situation through routine and event-based surveillance, emphasizing the severity and spread of the outbreak.
