The UN Refugee Agency said in Geneva on Tuesday that at least 42 suspected cases have been identified among the refugee population in South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the regions most affected by the smallpox variant, and confirmed and suspected cases have also been reported among the refugee population in other parts of the country, as well as in Rwanda.
The suspected cases are being reported in conflict-affected provinces, which are home to the majority of the 7.3 million internally displaced people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that borders Angola.
“In these areas, the virus threatens to exacerbate an already impossible situation for a population devastated by decades of conflict, forced displacement, appalling human rights violations and a lack of international assistance,” said Allen Maina, UNHCR’s chief of public health, quoted in a statement released by the UN agency.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been more than 18,000 suspected cases and 615 deaths to date in the DRC, and more than 220 cases of the new strain of smallpox in neighbouring countries.
UNHCR reported that it has so far received only 37 per cent of the US$250 million needed to meet the urgent needs of displaced people in the DRC in 2024, with health activities being one of the three least funded parts of the plan.
“International solidarity is urgently needed to expand health services, isolation centres, humanitarian shelters, and access to water and soap for people forced to flee,” Maina stressed.
“In conflict zones, peace is desperately needed to ensure a sustainable response that can stop the spread of the disease,” he added.
Monkeypox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that spreads from animals to humans, but can also be transmitted between people through physical contact. It causes fever, muscle aches and skin lesions.
The resurgence of the strain in Africa, which is having a major impact in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, prompted the WHO to activate the highest international alert level on 14 August.
The WHO said it needs US$87.4 million over six months, from September 2024 to February 2025, to work with affected countries, partners and other stakeholders to halt and contain the current outbreak.
