Poll suggests half of Congolese have not heard of deadly disease, as conspiracy theories and rumours spread
Displaced women at Muja camp near Goma listen to a health worker talk about mpox. Many believe the disease was spread on purpose by the west.Displaced women at Muja camp near Goma listen to a health worker talk about mpox. Many believe the disease was spread on purpose by the west.. Now the focus is on ensuring that people who need them will take them when the vaccination campaign begins next month, and teaching wider communities how to protect themselves.
The immunisation campaign is likely to be highly targeted and initially offered to frontline health workers and other groups particularly at risk, including contacts of known cases. Information on prevention and self-care, however, including the importance of regular hand-washing, needs to reach everyone.of almost 200,000 people in the DRC carried out this month by the UN children’s agency, Unicef, found only 56% had heard of mpox.
He recently took part in a broadcast phone-in about mpox. “From the questions I received, it was clear that people lack good information. I told them that it is not a disease coming from US or European people – it has been in our country for a while, and now we have an outbreak.”A Red Cross worker explains mpox to displaced children in Goma’s Don Bosco camp. Many people in the DRC believe mpox is some kind of punishment.
Gershom Risasi, a 60-year-old teacher, said: “Just as paracetamol manufacturers may want to sell their wares when there are several headaches, so foreign pharmaceutical companies may want to sell vaccines and make billions of dollars. Foreigners are looking for ways to weaken our health and thus take over the natural resources in the east of our country.”
Sophie Chavanel, a Unicef DRC communications expert, said: “These groups are briefed and trained and then go into communities to spread the word, either in public spaces such as markets or motorbike stations or suchlike.
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