Mass measles vaccination campaign begins in Ebola-hit DR Congo province
Interethnic violence has ravaged the Ituri Province in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since December last year, generating significant population movements within the Province, and toward neighbouring Uganda (Photo: UNICEF/Madjia
Interethnic violence has ravaged the Ituri Province in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since December last year, generating significant population movements within the Province, and toward neighbouring Uganda (Photo: UNICEF/Madjiangar).
Health workers have started a massive measles vaccination campaign in north-east Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a region that鈥檚 in the grip of the second deadliest Ebola virus outbreak on record.听
UN Children鈥檚 Fund UNICEF said on Thursday that it aims to inoculate 67,000 children in听Ituri听province.听
They鈥檙e just a small fraction of the 400,000 people displaced by an upsurge in communal violence and clashes between Government forces and non-State armed groups in the resource-rich area.听
According to UNICEF, nearly 2,000 people have died from measles across DRC so far this year, more than two-thirds of them children under five.听
Latest health data from DRC point to around 115,000 cases of suspected measles in the country, far more than the听65,000 tally听last year.听
Ebola a complicating factor in protecting the vulnerable听
Tackling the measles outbreak is complicated by the fact that its symptoms 鈥� fever, redness around the eyes, diarrhoea 鈥� are听similar to听those displayed by Ebola patients.听
On Wednesday, the DRC authorities reported that the latest Ebola outbreak 鈥� affecting听Ituri听and neighbouring North Kivu province - has killed 1,646 people since it began last August, while 683 people have recovered.听
To avoid infection with Ebola virus, measles vaccinators must wear surgical gowns to prevent contact with blood or other bodily fluids carrying the deadly haemorrhagic disease.听
Initial focus is on 鈥榰nsanitary鈥� camps for displaced听
As the measles vaccination campaign begins in听Ituri, the UN agency said that it is focusing initially on protecting 27,000 children living in crowded camps in and around Bunia, the largest town in the province.听
Many have been displaced by multiple attacks and counter-attacks involving Hema herders and听Lendu听farmers in recent months, as well as clashes between Congolese armed forces and non-state actors.听
鈥淭he combined threat of Ebola and measles for the thousands of families living in overcrowded and unsanitary displacement camps is unprecedented,鈥� said UNICEF DRC Representative Edouard听Beigbeder.听
Ituri听is home to 35 camps which are scattered across the province, UNICEF says.听
Insecurity makes area 鈥榲irtually听inacessible鈥櫶�
Many of those living in them are far away from treatment centres, the UN agency added in a statement, which noted that armed groups have destroyed up to half the health facilities in territory that is 鈥渧irtually inaccessible鈥� owing to insecurity.听
鈥淭he听northeastern听part of DRC is home to one of the worst humanitarian crises today,鈥� Mr.听Beigbeder听said. 鈥淲hether it is from measles, Ebola, or the reality of living in a displacement camp, children are at grave risk. We must do everything we can to protect them.鈥澨�
Measles campaigns are also being planned for听Tchomia听and听Nyankunde听health zones, elsewhere in听Ituri.听
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