News About Congo

Measles

Mass vaccination program are a big challenge in Congo.  For example, the measles vaccines must be kept cold and under refrigeration until used. 

MSF responding to measles epidemics in the Democratic Republic of Congo - news - MSF UK.

Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) is currently carrying out several mass immunisation campaigns to increase measles vaccination coverage in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after health authorities declared a number of measles epidemics. Medical teams have treated hundreds of measles cases.

Measles is a highly contagious viral infection which can spread quickly and can have deadly consequences for vulnerable populations. The DRC is one of the countries where the disease persists despite its successful control elsewhere in the world. “Epidemics like these are avoidable if the population has been vaccinated” said Karla Bil, MSF’s Health Advisor.

“Mass immunisation campaigns are so important because they raise the level of vaccination coverage and prevent unnecessary deaths” she added.

I Can't Wait to Ask the Question

Is 'the pill' available?  That's the question I want to ask the doctors of the Bulape Hospital and Health Zone in rural Congo (DRC).

I never thought about asking in the past.  I had heard most rural Congolese considered a form of their retirement plan.  Also, I knew that the Congolese families had many children to make allowance for the high child mortality rate.  It is a fact, one in five children do not live to their fifth birthday.

But I failed to think about the Congolese women.  Child birth complications kill one out of thirteen of them.

For more about the poverty and the pill, please read the article below or in its entirety.

Poverty and the pill.

In almost every village we stop in, we chat with families whose huts overflow with small children - whom the parents can't always afford to educate, feed or protect from disease.

Here in Kinshasa, we met Emilie Lunda, 25, who had nearly died during childbirth a few days earlier. Doctors saved her life, but her baby died. And she is still recuperating in a hospital and doesn't know how she will pay the bill.

"I didn't want to get pregnant," Emilie told us here in the Congolese capital. "I was afraid of getting pregnant." But she had never heard of birth control.

In rural parts of Congo Republic, the other Congo to the north, we found that even when people had heard of contraception, they often regarded it as unaffordable.

Most appalling, all the clinics and hospitals we visited in Congo Republic said that they would sell contraceptives only to women who brought their husbands in with them to prove that the husband accepted birth control.

1.2 Million Vaccination Syringes Donated to Congo

The Bulape Health Zone and almost 60 other health zones in Congo will received 1.2 million syringes.  The syringes were donated IMA World Health and its Project AXxes.  The syringes are used to vaccines such as measles and DPT.

Vaccines against measles and DPT will help reduce the high child mortality in Congo where one out of five children do not reach their fifth birthday.

IMA World Health Receives BD Donation of 1.2 Million Syringes for Democratic Republic of Congo.

IMA World Health (IMA) today announced that BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a global medical technology company, has donated and shipped 1.2 million vaccination syringes to IMA's comprehensive health projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo. BD also donated and shipped 1.7 million vaccination syringes in 2008.

The 1.2 million disposable, one-use syringes shipped from BD's European facilities to the Democratic Republic of Congo primarily are used for measles and DPT vaccines. DPT is a combination vaccine against three infectious diseases: diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus. The vaccines are prioritized for infants under age five months.

The syringes are being distributed through the AXXES project, an IMA-led consortium of faith-based partners providing maternal and child health to a population of 8.2 million. AXXES is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

"IMA is serving the critical need of the DRC by increasing vaccination rates in children under five for diseases including tetanus and measles. By delivering these vaccines, IMA's work is a tremendous contributor to protecting the health of these children," said William Kozy, BD Executive Vice President. 

Yellow fever vaccine push amid shortages, resurgence

One of the requirements to enter the Congo, beyond having a visa, and blind courage or a sense of adventure, is proof of a Yellow Fever vaccination.  I always thought it was a joke since western countries do not ask for it or require.  But I guess it's not a problem in Congo for that reason.  Congo is not among the 13 most at-risk countries in Africa

Yellow fever vaccine push amid shortages, resurgence.

DAKAR, 23 November 2009 (IRIN) - The world’s first multi-country yellow fever vaccination campaign began on 23 November, with 12 million people targeted across Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The push comes as the killer mosquito-borne disease is resurging in some sub-Saharan African countries and vaccine stocks are running low.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says 160 million Africans are at risk if further funding is not secured, as the current vaccine stockpile is expected to run out in 2010.

The three countries are the latest of the 13 most at-risk– Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo – to carry out preventive campaigns. Global health partnership GAVI Alliance has committed funding for campaigns in the 13 countries.

Ebola Outbreak is "Stabilized" but NOT OVER

What do we do with the Fat Lady?  Earlier I had ordered the Fat Lady back to her seat after Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said the Ebola Outbreak was under control.  But it is not over.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Kasai Occidental's Provincial Health Inspector advised Congolese to be aware, implement hygiene measures, and avoid eating bats and animals found dead in the bush.

DRC: Ebola outbreak in Kasai Occidental stabilised - WHO

An Ebola outbreak in southern Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) Kasai Occidental Province is now under control, according to a UN official.

“The epidemic has stabilised but we cannot say it is over. There is still a likelihood of it spreading; there are more new cases,” Matthieu Kamwa, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) resident representative in the DRC, said, adding that there was a need for increased vigilance.

Meanwhile, awareness raising about Ebola is continuing, said provincial health inspector Edmond Mulumba, with the population being encouraged to report those with symptoms such as bleeding, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhoea.

“The population should continue adhering to hygiene measures, wash their hands regularly, use latrines and avoid eating bats or animals found dead in the bush because this is a source of contamination,” Mulumba said.