Mpox vaccination shortage delays Kinshasa's drive against outbreak

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been unable to launch an mpox vaccination campaign in the capital Kinshasa due to a shortage of doses, the country's response leader said, while cases countrywide continue to rise, especially among children.

The World Health Organisation declared mpox a global health emergency in mid-August after a new strain began spreading from DRC to neighbouring countries.

However, donors have been slow to translate their promises into money and vaccines, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cris Kacita, the head of operations for DRC's mpox control programme, said on Tuesday it had 53,921 doses of vaccine left for use in prisons — where people are at high risk due to squalid conditions — but it needed more than 162,000 doses to launch a vaccination programme in the capital.

So far, the capital, with nearly 20-million inhabitants, has been less affected than regions elsewhere in the country. Vaccination programmes are under way in six other provinces.

France has pledged 100,000 doses, with other shipments from Germany and the AU, but it is not known when they are due to arrive, Kacita said.

The arrival of vaccines was also delayed by the administrative process which includes sending an official request, manufacturing, preparing documents and getting import authorisations.

“As long as we don't have the necessary quantity it's going to be complicated to launch [vaccination] in the 14 health zones,” Kacita said, referring to areas of Kinshasa.

DRC as a whole reported 1,017 new suspected cases from October 28 to November 2, including 45 confirmed cases and 16 deaths, a health ministry report said.

Charity Save the Children said on Wednesday targeted vaccinations were needed to stop the virus spreading rapidly among children, who are nearly four times more likely to die from the new strain of mpox than adults.

According to the aid agency's data, suspected cases among children in DRC have increased by more than 130% since August 14, from 11,300 to 25,600 by November 3.

“Children are especially vulnerable to mpox — they explore by touch and taste, don't always understand health guidance and have weaker immune systems than adults,” Katia Vieira de Moraes LaCasse from Save the Children said.

Reuters(Reporting by Ange Kasongo; Editing by Anait Miridzhanian and Alison Williams)