More than 14 million children to receive polio vaccines in DRC

Kinshasa, Aug 9 (Prensa Latina) More than 14 million children are to be immunized during the polio vaccination campaign being carried out in seven provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

August 9, 2024
13:14

The Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), in partnership with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is driving the action which is due to be carried out in 138 health zones until August 12, according to Actualité.CD.

The vaccination teams are expected to reach some 4,374,000 children from zero to five years of age in the provinces of Kinshasa, Mai-Ndombe, Mongala and Tshopo, by visiting the homes of infants.

Meanwhile, in the provinces of Haut-Lomami, Haut Katanga and Tanganyika, more than 9,762,000 children aged zero to 15 years are expected to be reached.

Polio has been declared an epidemic in the DRC since 2017, with 1,080 cases reported, including 258 type 1 and 822 type 2.

However, the response carried out in 2023 reduced the number of variant poliovirus cases by more than 50%, from 280 in 2023 to 15 in 2024, according to the Polio Emergency Operations Committee (COUP).

Children under the age of five are the most exposed, with Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami and Haut-Katanga provinces being the most affected, Actualité CD noted.

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