DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - Emergency assistance project to combat Simian smallpox (MPOX)

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with its 2345,000 km², is the second largest country in Africa. The country is endowed with immense natural resource potential and plays a vital role in climate preservation. Unfortunately, the DRC is undergoing uncontrolled deforestation associated with climate change, leading to changes in wildlife habitat. The alarming figures associated with the significant progression and lethality of this Mpox epidemic in the DRC led the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare, followed by the World Health Organization (WHO), to declare it a global health emergency. On August 14, 2024, the WHO Director-General declared Mpox a public health event of international concern. Between week 1 and week 43 (S1-S43) 2024, epidemiological follow-up (appendix 2) showed a cumulative total of 38185 suspected cases, 29574 laboratory-tested cases, of which 8607 were confirmed positive, and 1049 notified deaths, representing a case-fatality rate of 2.7% among suspects. Among suspected cases. Children2 between the ages of 0 and 15 accounted for 63% of suspected cases and 80% of deaths. Mortality was four times higher in children under one year of age than in those over 15. Climate financing is not attributed to this project.