Médecins Sans Frontières launches a vaccination campaign for 688,500 children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

MSF Operations in DRC

A measles epidemic has struck the Tanganyika district of Katanga in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where hundreds of thousands of children are not immunised. Médecins Sans Frontières has launched a large scale emergency intervention to treat the sick and vaccinate the children.

Kinshasa – More than 2,000 people have been contaminated by measles in the district of Tanganyika in eastern DRC during the first semester of the year. 35 measles related deaths have been reported, yet, the death toll may be higher. Complications arising from the disease are the main causes of death, and can occur several weeks after infection. “Measles is a very contagious disease, and it kills a great number of children here,” explains Josep Prior, Head of Mission in DRC. “Children under 5 are the main victims, but older people can catch it too, or transmit the virus.”

Médecins Sans Frontières has therefore decided to support the health system, ensuring that measles patients can be isolated and receive the adequate medication in time. Médecins Sans Frontières medical teams focus on the acute cases; those patients suffering from complications, such as respiratory infections, diarrhoea, dehydration or malnutrition. Meanwhile, vaccination teams will immunise all children aged between 6 months and 15 years in 10 health areas. Totalling 688,500 children, this is a massive vaccination campaign.

A whole generation of children has not been regularly immunised, and is now particularly exposed to infection. Josep Prior adds: "In Tanganyika, routine vaccination was not effective during the war. Many people have been fleeing for years. They hid in the bush, settled elsewhere, and even left DRC. It has only been two years that the situation has been really peaceful, and that people have come back to the country”.

As they live in remote areas, part of the population still do not have access to primary healthcare. “The epidemic is rife in a huge area, and we barely can access the villages by car”, relates Anne Wouters, head of one of Médecins Sans Frontières vaccination teams. “We will adapt ourselves, be inventive. We have to use motorcycles, bikes and boats on the river Tanganyika, which follows the whole district. This vaccination campaign is really complex to organise”. This in a district which is about one quarter the size of France.

This campaign, which is run in collaboration with local health authorities and staff, began on July 7th, and is going to last 4 months. A total of 200 people from Médecins Sans Frontières will be covering the areas of Moba, Kalemie, Nyunzu, Nyemba, Ankoro, Kabalo, Manono, Kiambi, Kansimba and Kilwa.

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