(ANSA) – ROME, 11 SEPTEMBER – Due to rising rates of acute malnutrition, 4.5 million children under 5 and over 3.7 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are at risk of contracting monkeypox (MPOX) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Save the Children said in a statement.
The country is currently at the epicenter of an outbreak of a new strain of smallpox that has so far killed at least 632 people, putting further pressure on a country where about a quarter of the population already needs humanitarian assistance.
“The severity of the new data makes the need to prevent the spread of smallpox and other diseases in DRC even more urgent,” said Greg Ramm, Save the Children’s DRC Country Director. “It has been known for decades that malnutrition weakens the immune system, making it harder to fight off disease and increasing the likelihood that children will die from conditions like diarrhoea. We know that in recent months across the country, malnourished children living in poor sanitation and hygiene are contracting and dying from smallpox at a much higher rate than adults. This new variant compounds the problems caused by conflict, displacement and poverty that many families are already facing,” he continued.
“We are now at a crossroads: can we let this deadly smallpox virus spread and cause catastrophe among children, or do we want to use the information we have to take urgent action to prevent the spread of the virus, treat children, strengthen the country’s health systems and water, sanitation and hygiene services, and thus protect children and families? For several years, the country has had one of the worst rates of hunger and malnutrition in the world. For too long, the world has failed the children of the DRC. It is time for donors and international agencies to step up to protect them,” the statement concludes. (ANSA).
2024-09-12 05:57:43