Head of Congo’s Mpox Response Team, Cris Kacita, has said the country needs to step up efforts to raise awareness about Mpox and the availability of vaccines.
Kacita warned on Thursday that the vaccination campaign, initially planned to last 10 days, would take longer due to low vaccine uptake and limited public awareness.
The campaign, which launched this month in the heavily affected eastern region, is struggling to reach locals who remain unaware or suspicious of the shots. At a vaccination site in North Kivu province, a Reuters reporter found that residents had little information about the effort.
“The awareness campaign has been carried out, but only timidly. These gaps need to be filled,”.
In Kibati, a camp for displaced people in North Kivu, residents expressed frustration over the lack of information. “I know nothing about this vaccine. No one has come to educate me about any vaccination against mpox,” said Simon Ngagijimana Chui, the camp’s chief.
The vaccination drive is essential to containing the mpox outbreak, which originated in the east and has since spread to several African countries. However, due to limited supply, the campaign began with only 265,000 doses in a country of roughly 100 million people.
Health workers in Kibati have recruited local advocates to help promote vaccination. One advocate, 22-year-old Benire Furahini Buchaguzi, uses a loudspeaker to inform the community, even showing her own vaccination certificate to encourage others.
Mpox, which spreads through close contact, typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Though usually mild, it can sometimes be fatal.
