More Than 6,000 Dead In Democratic Republic Of Congo In World’s Worst Measles Outbreak

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said the number of people killed by a measles epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo has crossed 6,000 since January, reported BBC.

DRC has reported about 310,000 suspected measles cases since the start of 2019. The WHO said the measles epidemic is the world’s largest and has killed twice more people than Ebola in the Central African country.

The Congolese government declared its latest measles epidemic in June and launched an emergency vaccination programme in collaboration with the WHO in September. Under the measles vaccination programme, more than 18 million children under the age of 5 were vaccinated across DR Congo in 2019.

“We are doing our utmost to bring this epidemic under control,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Yet to be truly successful we must ensure that no child faces the unnecessary risk of death from a disease that is easily preventable by a vaccine. We urge our donor partners to urgently step up their assistance.”

But despite the efforts, routine vaccination coverage in some areas of the country remains low. The health officials have found that 25% of the measles cases in the current epidemic are in children aged older than 5 years, who are the most vulnerable.

WHO said around $27 million has already been mobilized for the response, but an additional $40 million in emergency funds was needed from donors for a six-month immunization plan for children to help curb the epidemic. The funding will be used to improve treatment, health education, and community engagement, in addition to strengthening the health system, among other measures.

Last month, the UN agency trained 60 health workers to conduct community engagement, health education, and surveillance, who will be deployed in DRC this month.

It is estimated that around 110,000 people die from measles globally each year.