The UN interagency delegation, accompanied by partners from Africa CDC and Japan, concludes a three-day visit to Bukavu, affirming collective support against the Mpox virus. | WHO

From September 27 to 30, 2024, Bukavu, the capital of the South Kivu province (eastern DRC), welcomed senior officials from the United Nations system (Agencies and Funds), partners from Africa CDC and of the Embassy of Japan in the DRC, as part of a mission to evaluate the response to the Mpox epidemic in order to define strategies for scaling up with the provincial authorities.

“This mission is a gesture of support and solidarity towards the communities affected by the Mpox health crisis. With our partners, we will continue to strengthen our interventions based on our respective expertise, our comparative advantages and our commitment to quickly control the epidemic in progress”, underlined the Humanitarian Coordinator Bruno Lemarquis, on September 29, 2024 in Bukavu during a joint press briefing with the WHO Resident Representative in the DRC, Dr Boureima Hama Sambo.

The Humanitarian Coordinator, accompanied by representatives of WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, IOM, FAO, Africa CDC, the Japanese Embassy and several other partners, met the governor of the province, Mr. Jean-Jacques Purusi, and the technical managers of the Provincial Health Division (DPS). They were joined by Dr Jean-Marie Vianny Yaméogo who coordinates WHO interventions, for the management of the incident at the continental level, and Dr Mohamadou Bachir Mbodj, at the DRC level.

During the meeting in the early evening of Friday, September 27 in his office, Governor Purusi warmly welcomed this multidisciplinary joint mission, calling it “a strong symbol of solidarity with our province in the face of the worrying Mpox epidemic in a context of protracted humanitarian crisis. He stressed that this was the first visit of the highest officials of the United Nations to the DRC and partners at the central level dedicated to this health crisis in the province.

During the same day, DPS officials presented to the delegation the evolution of the epidemiological situation, marked by nearly 8,000 suspected cases of Mpox and 43 deaths (fatality rate: 0.53%) in the the only province in South Kivu since the start of the year. The delegation then assessed the level of the response against the Mpox virus during a meeting with humanitarian stakeholders at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The next step was a visit to the Treatment Center for patients affected by the Mpox virus at the Bukavu University Clinics, on the morning of Saturday September 28. Subsequently, members of the joint delegation went to the Mpox Treatment Center in Lwiro, located in the Miti-Murhesa health zone, approximately thirty kilometers from Bukavu.

“The visit to these two treatment centers – the University Clinics of Bukavu, supported by the WHO, and the Lwiro center, supported by UNICEF – aimed to salute the collective efforts of the partners who contribute effectively to the recovery. patients and to slow the spread of monkeypox in the region. We have provided tents to increase capacity and improve hospital conditions and several tons of essential medicines and other medical supplies for the treatment of patients, the prevention and control of infections and the protection of frontline health personnel, ” said Dr Sambo, WHO representative.

“The spread of Mpox virus can be brought under control quickly through strengthening combined and robust public health measures, such as effective surveillance for early identification of cases, access to diagnostic tests, contact tracing, treatment rapid patient response, without forgetting risk communication and community engagement. Our support will continue to defeat this epidemic, both at the epicenter, Miti-Murhesa, and at the national and regional levels, and thus serve as an example of a common strategy to combat mpox,” added the Dr. Sambo.

He also stressed that the United Nations, thanks to the expertise of each agency or fund and other partners in the DRC, will continue to strengthen its commitment to affected communities by providing essential medical equipment for patient care.

“This is the first time that multi-sectoral agencies have used a single mission, a single continental coordination team, a response plan, a budget and a monitoring and evaluation framework as part of a major health intervention. reminds us of our beginnings in the response to the HIV pandemic”, rejoiced Dr Nicaise Ndembi, special advisor to the Director General of Africa CDC.

According to cumulative data from the Mpox epidemic in the DRC, since the beginning of 2024 until September 27, at least 30,596 cases have been reported, including 5,602 laboratory confirmed, and 988 deaths (case fatality rate of 3.2%).