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DRC: Over $ 4 million from WHO and partners in the measles response

The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners announced their contribution to the tune of 4.2 million US dollars last Thursday, February 27, in the framework of activities to combat the epidemic of measles which is raging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since 2019.

This is a contribution of the US $ 6.5 million the country expects to raise for the execution of its recent operational response plan. According to a WHO press release, the activities of this plan, which will extend over three months, will be devoted to the identification and targeting of unvaccinated children during the recent measles vaccination campaigns at the end of the year. 2019, in the 121 priority health zones.

“It is our duty to continue to strengthen targeted interventions, by vaccinating all children who are not or insufficiently vaccinated against measles. To succeed in this sweep in health areas with migrant populations, displaced communities in regions of difficult access, we must act now, with determination, to mobilize additional resources and engage our partners to strengthen their solidarity with the children of the DRC, so that they can be vaccinated free of charge and better protected against these deadly epidemics of measles “, said Dr Amédée Prosper Djiguimdé, Officer in charge of the WHO office in the DRC, during a meeting of positioning of the partners chaired by the Minister of Health, Dr Eteni Longondo.

In 2019, more than 6,000 people out of nearly 290,000 reported cases died from measles in the DRC, making it the deadliest epidemic than Ebola. But in view of the epidemiological situation of the last 4 weeks (from week 03 to week 06 of the year 2020), WHO notes a trend towards a decrease in the number of measles cases notified, especially in the provinces Haut Katanga, Kinshasa, Kwango, Lomami, Lualaba, Maniema, Tanganyika and Tshopo.

Health Minister Dr Eteni Longondo encourages other donors to follow in the footsteps of WHO and its aforementioned partners in this coordination effort aimed at the effective implementation of the quarterly operational plan for response and response activities. raking. The specific objectives are, among other things, to provide free medical care for all cases of measles received in health facilities, and to strengthen epidemiological surveillance of measles on a case-by-case basis in the targeted areas.

Claude Sengenya

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