More than 6,000 people have died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in what the World Health Organization (WHO) calls “the worst measles epidemic in the world,” reports IFLScience.
Health officials in the region are asking for “sufficient finance” to “end the epidemic” and “lift the burden of this protracted epidemic” on thousands of Congolese families. Already, US $ 27.6 million has been mobilized, but an additional US $ 40 million is needed to strengthen responses on the ground and implement a six-month plan to extend immunizations to children aged 6 to 14. One in four reported cases of measles affects children over the age of five.
“We are doing everything we can to control this epidemic. However, to be truly successful, we need to make sure that no child runs the unnecessary risk of dying from a vaccine-preventable disease. We urge our donor partners to urgently step up their aid, “said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, in a statement released by the agency on January 2 and reported by IFLScience.
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