The European Union (EU) announced on Tuesday that it has granted aid of 350,000 euros to fight the mpox epidemic (previously called monkeypox) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a press release.
The Congolese health authorities report nearly 9,000 mox cases in the country and 500 deaths this year, the EU delegation in the Democratic Republic of Congo said in a statement, adding that the province of Maniema (east) is the most affected.
To Kinshasa
The epidemic has reached the capital, Kinshasa, where “last week two patients were confirmed and treated,” he adds.
The situation has led the EU to “intensify its support and extend it to three new health zones in Maniema, by strengthening response capacities, in particular through surveillance, community awareness, diagnosis and treatment.”
The 350,000 euros from the European Union are earmarked for ALIMA, a medical-humanitarian organization present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for a five-month project.
These funds will help the organization “address urgent and critical needs related to training and capacity building in disease surveillance, case management, and infection prevention through community engagement, health promotion, and preparedness for the response to epidemic outbreaks, as well as strengthening the capacities of personnel, structures and the health system,” said Johan Heffinck, head of office of ECHO (European Commission Humanitarian Fund for Civil Protection and Relief Operations). .
The disease, which was first reported in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is characterized by skin rashes that may appear on the genitals or in the mouth and may be accompanied by attacks of fever, sore throat, or pain in the neck. the lymph nodes.
Source: BFM TV
