Kinshasa – In its largest air cargo shipment to the African region this year, World Health Organization (WHO) today delivered 33.5 metric tonnes of emergency medical supplies and equipment to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to reinforce mpox outbreak response.

Today’s delivery follows an initial shipment of more than 14 metric tonnes of emergency supplies to the country two weeks ago to support infection prevention and control, and clinical care measures in the ongoing outbreak. The two shipments will contribute significantly to infection prevention and treatment services in the country for the next three months.

In addition to reinforcing the mpox outbreak response, the medical equipment and supplies will also be delivered to laboratories as well as district and referral health facilities to provide care for other medical conditions.

“We’re intensifying our support to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in all critical areas of the mpox outbreak response, ensuring adequate testing, prevention and effective clinical care to stop the spread of this virus,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “We’re grateful to our partners for the important collaboration in strengthening the ongoing national efforts to bring this outbreak to an end.”

The Democratic Republic of the Congo accounts for about 90% of the more than 31 000 suspected mpox cases reported so far this year from 14 countries in the African region. WHO is working closely with partners and the government to enhance capacity, expertise and outbreak response measures.

The spread of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is attributed to two distinct main outbreaks: the spread of mpox clade Ia in the western Equateur and other provinces of the country where the disease is endemic, including spread to and outbreaks in the capital Kinshasa; and the spread of clade Ib in North and South Kivu provinces in the east, with a few cases in Kinshasa.

As part of increased support to the mpox outbreak response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, WHO is expanding its operational capacity in the field, with more than 300 disease surveillance and outbreak response experts from WHO’s polio response programme recently integrated into mpox outbreak control efforts.

In collaboration with national health authorities and partners, WHO experts are also working closely with communities to raise awareness about mpox, promote preventive measures and encourage reporting of cases.

Efforts are also being ramped up to strengthen national diagnostic capacities by providing testing kits, reagents and machines to decentralize testing in eight laboratories. On 19 September 2024, WHO dispatched 3500 GeneXpert cartridges to provincial laboratories to ensure adequate testing for effective clinical care, thanks to support from the United States Agency for International Development.

In readiness for mpox vaccine rollout, WHO is working with countries to ramp up measures to ensure effective introduction of the vaccines. WHO has developed an mpox vaccine roadmap and readiness tool and is supporting countries to develop national vaccine deployment plans that target those populations at highest risk.