GENEVA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the world's worst measles epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has surpassed 6,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, calling for more funding to stop the outbreak.
Though more than 18 million children under five across the country were vaccinated in 2019, routine vaccination coverage in some areas remains low and 25 percent of the reported measles cases are among children over the age of five, who are the most vulnerable, according to the WHO.
Latest numbers show that since the start of 2019, around 310,000 suspected measles cases have been reported. The epidemic has been aggravated by low vaccination coverage among vulnerable communities, malnutrition, weak public health systems, outbreaks of other epidemic-prone diseases, difficult access by vulnerable populations to health care and insecurity that has hampered response in some areas.
"We are doing our utmost to bring this epidemic under control. Yet to be truly successful we must ensure that no child faces the unnecessary risk of death from a disease that is easily preventable by a vaccine. We urge our donor partners to urgently step up their assistance," said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.
The WHO has been calling for more funding to curb the outbreak and mobilized so far 27.6 million U.S. dollars. However, a further 40 million dollars are required for a six-month plan to extend the vaccination to children between six and 14 years, and to reinforce elements of the outbreak response beyond vaccination, including improving treatment, health education, community engagement, health system strengthening, epidemiological surveillance and response coordination.
"We still need to do more," said Dr. Amedee Prosper Djiguimde, officer in charge of WHO office in the DRC. "Thousands of Congolese families need our help to lift the burden of this prolonged epidemic from their backs. We cannot achieve this without adequate finances."
Measles is characterized by the eruption of red spots on the skin caused by a virus that is transmitted easily by direct contact or in the air. Currently vaccination continues free of charge in the most-affected areas in the DRC, and children who develop measles will also be treated for free.
With a population of 80 million, the DRC has more than 4 million displaced and is home to the world's second largest food crisis with 13 million people food insecure. Since January 2019, the country has been mired by outbreaks of cholera, measles and malaria, leading to thousands of deaths.
