The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has intensified efforts to enhance vaccination coverage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), providing crucial logistical support, including boats and motorcycles, to access remote communities along the Congo River.
The initiative aims to curb the spread of preventable diseases such as polio, measles, and yellow fever, which continue to pose a significant threat in hard-to-reach areas.
WHO has supplied 79 outboard motors, two speedboats, 14 motorcycles, and other vital equipment worth $750,000 to the country’s Ministry of Public Health to expand vaccination campaigns across 89 health zones in nine provinces, the agency announced.
“These boats and vehicles will allow health workers to quickly reach children and communities who have long been cut off from essential services. “This will significantly reduce the number of missed vaccinations and ensure that no child is left vulnerable to diseases that we can prevent.”
Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO Representative in the DRC
The Congo River and its numerous tributaries create a vast network of isolated islands and remote settlements, particularly in provinces such as Équateur, Mongala, Tanganyika, and Tshopo. Many of these areas house large numbers of unvaccinated children, leading to repeated outbreaks of polio, measles, and yellow fever, WHO reports.
In 2024 alone, the DRC recorded 25 cases of circulating variant poliovirus (types 1 and 2) and over 102,500 suspected measles cases, resulting in more than 2,200 deaths. Meningitis remains a pressing concern, with 5,837 suspected cases and 465 fatalities last year.
Disease Outbreaks Worsen Amid Healthcare Challenges
WHO and DRC authorities are tackling these challenges through mass immunization campaigns.
“Improving the availability of vaccines and other vital health supplies in the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) branches, health zones, and areas is essential to strengthening the health system and implementing advanced and mobile vaccination strategies. Integration with other health services will make a difference, bringing significant benefits to the most vulnerable population.”
Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO Representative in the DRC
Even as the country battles vaccine-preventable diseases, the DRC is also grappling with a large mpox outbreak. Between January 1 and March 2, 2025, the country recorded 2,415 confirmed cases, with 1,080 reported in the last six weeks alone.
“The situation has been very difficult. Insecurity has disrupted everything,” said Dr. Serge Munyahu Cikuru, a medical officer overseeing the Miti Murhesa health zone in South Kivu province’s Kabare territory.
Meanwhile, outbreaks of cholera and measles continue in the eastern DRC, alongside mysterious new disease outbreaks recently identified in the northwestern region.
According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the country saw a 31% weekly increase in mpox cases last week, bringing the total to 16,255.
WHO has classified the mpox resurgence as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), warning that the virus is circulating in at least ten provinces. The outbreak is being driven by sustained human-to-human transmission, particularly in the capital, Kinshasa, where genomic sequencing indicates that one specific strain has persisted since July 2024.
Efforts to contain the virus have been further complicated by ongoing violence in the eastern DRC, which has disrupted healthcare services and hampered efforts to track and contain the disease. In February, the virus was detected for the first time in Lomami province, signaling its further spread.
WHO is also closely monitoring new travel-related mpox cases that have emerged outside the DRC, including in Belgium, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Additionally, South Africa has reported its first cluster of mpox cases linked to the same strain circulating in the DRC.
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