Vaccines were first administered to hospital staff on Saturday, with the wider vaccine drive due to start on Monday in the east of the country, where the current outbreak began last year.
On Friday, the DRC Ministry of Public Health warned that the vaccine campaign would be limited due to few resources.
So far, only 265,000 doses are available.
“As you can imagine, in a country of 100 million people, we’re not going to solve the problem with 265,000 doses,” Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba told a news conference on Friday.
Last month, US President Joe Biden said Washington plans to donate one million doses of the mpox vaccine to African nations.
The eastern city of Goma, which was most severely affected by the outbreak, is the site of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first mpox vaccination campaign.
Hospital staff members received their first vaccinations on Saturday, and on Monday, the country’s eastern region—where the current outbreak started last year—will begin a larger vaccination campaign.
The DRC Ministry of Public Health issued a warning on Friday, stating that a lack of funding would restrict the vaccination campaign. The number of doses available thus far is just 265,000.
At a press conference on Friday, Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba stated, “As you can imagine, in a country of 100 million people, we’re not going to solve the problem with 265,000 doses.”.
He added that the aim of the drive was to target priority groups, including those with existing health issues and health workers.
It is anticipated that France, Japan, and the United States will send more vaccination doses.
US President Joe Biden announced last month that Washington intends to give one million doses of the mpox vaccine to countries in Africa.
“An important step in limiting the spread of the virus and ensuring the safety of families and communities” is what World Health Organization Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti said in a statement announcing the vaccine’s release.
The World Health Organization reported that since the beginning of 2024, the Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded over 30,000 suspected and confirmed cases of mpox, along with 900 fatalities.
Close contact with an infected person or animal can result in the virus spreading. The virus usually causes pus-filled lesions on the body and flu-like symptoms once it is contracted.
Following the discovery of a new, more contagious variant known as clade Ib, the WHO declared mpox a public health emergency in August.
As of now this year, the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reports that mpox has been found in 16 African nations.
A PCR test to identify mpox by swabbing skin lesions was approved by the WHO, the organization said on Friday.
Kamba said that the WHO promised to provide the DRC with roughly 4,500 tests, but they did not specify when they would do so.
