
Unite in the fight against an invisible enemy: poliomyelitis in the DRC
UNICEF mobilizes alongside local communities and government to protect children against polio virus in the DRC
A campaign to fight back poliomyelitis
Kipaka, DRC — it was a large crowd of people that welcomed on Monday, 26 June 2017, the provincial Minister of Public Health, Dr Lukala Ngereza Charles, at the official launching of the immunization campaign against poliomyelitis in Kipaka, about 200 km south of Kindu, Maniema’s provincial capital in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Planned in two phases, from 27 to 29 June and from 10 to 12 July, the immunization campaign aims to vaccinate 276,000 children under 5 against poliomyelitis in the health zones of Alunguli, Kailo, Kampene, Kasongo, Kibombo, Kunda and Samba in Maniema province.

276,000 children under 5 to be vaccinated!
“The government wants to eradicate the paralyzing polio disease from our country. That’s why we are launching this vaccination campaign”, declared the provincial Minister of Health. “I therefore invite everyone in southern Maniema including all parents and caregivers, to have their children aged zero to five years vaccinated during these two phases of the campaign,” he said.
A new case of polio in April 2017
The choice of Kipaka, headquarter of the Kunda health zone, for the launching ceremony was not made by chance. In April 2017, DRC recorded a new case of polio in the Penegorie village, bordering the Congo River, in Kunda health zone, Maniema province. The patient was a two-year-old girl who had been walking properly until she suddenly loses the use of her two legs.

A medical analysis confirmed the case to be an acute paralysis caused by the poliomyelitis virus. An investigation by health experts established that two other children around her had also been infected. The last case of polio in DRC occurred in Yaleko in the province of Tshopo in 2013.
A war against polio in the DRC
In support to the government-led immunization campaign, UNICEF has deployed massive and unprecedented human and material resources.

A multidisciplinary team of over thirty people from New York, Dakar, Kinshasa, Goma and Kindu has been deployed to the eight health zones to strengthen the capacity of local partners. The UNICEF team has trained more than 300 independent campaign monitors selected by the National Committee of Health Ethics (CNES) in partnership with local authorities to make sure the polio vaccine (mOPV2) is properly managed during the campaign.

“We are at war against an invisible enemy: the poliomyelitis virus. It cannot be seen but it poses a serious threat to all our children and to the future of our country”, said Dr. André Kasogo, UNICEF Immunization Specialist, at the launching of the training sessions of independent monitors.
“We have to fight the polio virus by all means necessary and above all we have to make sure that every child benefits from each dose of the vaccine prescribed for them,” he said.

From Community Involvement to Children’s Immunization
UNICEF teams are also supporting awareness raising, advocacy and social mobilization activities targeting political and administrative authorities, religious and community leaders, non-governmental organizations, members of civil society organizations, parents and caregivers so that they can take the ownership of, and get personally involved in the fight against polio.

“Participation and community engagement is key to gaining the fight against poliomyelitis,” said Thierry Dentice, UNICEF’s head of Office for the Eastern Zone. “I therefore invite all our partners involved in this struggle to put the community at the center of their interventions so that every child can be vaccinated. In this way, we can put an end to this vaccine-preventable disease,” he added.

Poliomyelitis is a highly contagious and disabling disease which can led to death in some cases. A single child infected by polio is likely to contaminate 200 others around them. Vaccination remains the only means of prevention. Having children vaccinated several times is a safe practice. It increases the children’s defenses and protects them in regions where the virus continues to circulate.
By Djaounsede Madjiangar
Communication specialist / UNICEF RDC, Eastern zonal office (Goma)
Translated from French by Robert Marshall
