More than 300 World Health Organization (WHO) disease surveillance and outbreak response experts supporting the polio eradication efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been integrated into mpox outbreak control efforts as WHO scales up support to the country to effectively address the ongoing public health emergency. 

“The Polio Eradication Programme has been at the forefront of disease surveillance in communities. The lessons we’ve learnt from this programme coupled with the expertise of our immunization and polio workers in identifying at-risk groups and engaging communities will be instrumental in the efforts to halt the spread of the mpox,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

The experts have extensive field experience in public health, particularly in community-based and health-facility active surveillance, case investigations, contact tracing and risk communication, and have been at the forefront in the fight against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

In 2023 and 2024 they played a key role in supporting the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s successful implementation of nationwide  polio vaccination campaign, targeting more than 25 million children in just  three days. These efforts have brought down the incidence of polio by more than 90%.

“Our experience in managing infectious diseases and our deep integration within the communities we serve make us a vital part of the ongoing mpox response,” says Dr Jean-Blaise Iyala, among the more than 300 polio responders deployed in the country’s northern Bas-Uélé province. “Disease surveillance has been crucial in swiftly identifying and managing mpox cases nationwide, just as it has been for polio in the past.” 

Mpox has been detected in 15 African countries so far this year. The Democratic Republic of the Congo accounts for 90% of all cases, with more than 21 000 suspected cases and 700 deaths reported to date this year. 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has received more than 200 000 mpox vaccine doses. WHO and partner organizations are supporting the national authorities to ensure preparedness for an effective rollout of the vaccine.

Targeted vaccination can help reduce the spread of the virus by breaking chains of infection. WHO is also assisting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other affected countries prepare for vaccine deployment by developing cold-chain systems for vaccine storage and transport; testing, contact tracing and capacity building; and developing mechanisms to tackle misinformation. 

In addition, WHO is working with partners like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF, through the interim medical countermeasures network, to enable urgently needed vaccine donations from countries with existing stockpiles. 

Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus. It spreads between people, mainly through close physical contact. While most people fully recover, the disease can be fatal. Children, pregnant women and individuals with weakened immune systems such as people living with HIV face greater risk of infection. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Democratic Republic of Congo.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the use of an mpox vaccine for the first time, which it says should facilitate “timely and increased access” for millions at risk in Africa where the latest outbreak has infected more than 20,000 so far this year.

The MVA-BN vaccine from the Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic was prequalified by the WHO on Friday and has already been approved in Europe and the United States, for use by adults.

WHO approval will accelerate access for millions, to reduce transmission and help contain the outbreak.

WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the prequalification of this vaccine is an important step in the fight against the mpox virus in Africa and for the future.

“We now need urgent scale up in procurement, donations and rollout to ensure equitable access to vaccines where they are needed most, alongside other public health tools, to prevent infections, stop transmission and save lives,” Mr. Ghebreyesus said.

Vaccine administration

The MVA-BN vaccine can be given in two doses to people 18 years and older, four weeks apart, which has an estimated 82 per cent effectiveness.

For infants, young children, pregnant women and immunocompromised people, the vaccine may be used in situations where the benefits of the vaccine are greater than potential risks.

In instances where the vaccine supply is limited, the health organization recommends distribution in single doses, which is 76 per cent effective.

WHO said prequalification of the vaccine will help accelerate procurement by governments and international agencies such as vaccine alliance Gavi and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

It can also help fast-track regulatory approval by countries worldwide.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

UN humanitarians are rushing to assist scores of newly displaced people in northeast Nigeria, after torrential rains caused a dam to collapse and flood the area, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.

Alau Dam, located just over 10 miles to the south of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, collapsed in the middle of the night on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes.

Emmanuel Bigenimana, the head of WFP’s office in Maiduguri, said that he managed to fly over the city in a UN humanitarian air service (UNHAS) helicopter dispatched by WFP, to conduct a rapid assessment of damage and needs.

“What I have seen is really heartbreaking,” he said, describing homes, infrastructure, roads, schools, hospitals submerged by water.

Sleeping on the street

“Many, many people – I’m talking about over 200,000 – 300,000 displaced people – are overcrowded in several IDP (internally displaced persons) camps and also on the streets.”

WFP reported that the dam collapse saw river water overrunning 50 per cent of Maiduguri and state authorities issued evacuation orders to residents in the affected areas, appealing for humanitarian support.

Speaking from the centre of one of the IDP camps, Mr. Bigenimana said that WFP has managed to open soup kitchens to provide hot meals to the affected people and was scaling up its response together with the authorities and partners.

The soup kitchens located in three camps – Teachers’ Village, Asheikh and Yerwa – aim to provide nutritious hot meals to “50,000 of the worst affected children, women, and men who have lost their homes,” WFP said, but more assistance is needed.

Compounding security crisis, economic hardship

“This is really an additional burden to already existing crises,” WFP’s Mr. Bigenimana stressed. “This region has been facing conflict for a decade.”

Borno State was one of the areas worst affected by the Boko Haram insurgency which, the UN said earlier this year, has been controlled to some extent.

“More recently, we have seen food inflation, food prices have been skyrocketing, really affecting millions of people who are facing food insecurity,” Mr. Bigenimana added.

The impacts of extreme weather are being felt severely across the country. Some 800,000 people in 29 states in Nigeria have been affected by floods as of September 2024, WFP said, and over 550,000 hectares of cropland have been flooded.

As of March this year, some 32 million people in the country were already facing acute hunger.

The UN’s food agency said that it needs $147.9 million to support food insecure people in Nigeria’s northeast over the coming six months.

For the flood-affected populations in Maiduguri, “recovery will take long,” Mr. Bigenimana said. “We need more resources to save lives and to put together efforts to respond to the crises – and also think of longer-term recovery and solutions.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha: “I spoke with Yusuf Tuggar and thanked Nigeria for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ukraine remains committed to its important role in maintaining and strengthening Nigeria’s food security.

We discussed the path to a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine based on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula. We count on Nigeria’s participation in these peace efforts. We also exchanged our views ahead of the UNGA High-Level Week”.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.