“Children in Burundi are bearing the brunt of the mpox outbreak, with alarming infection rates and health impacts,” said Dr. Paul Ngwakum, UNICEF Regional Health Advisor for East and Southern Africa. “Of the nearly 600 reported cases, two-thirds are children under 19 and the situation is escalating rapidly with more than (a) 40 percent increase in the number of cases in the past three weeks.”
To date, more than 14,000 suspected cases of mpox have been reported in Burundi, but no deaths. However, in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, there are nearly 21,900 suspected cases and 717 deaths.
The UNICEF official maintained that with funding and swift action in Burundi, “We have the possibility to end this outbreak in a very short time because the geographical area is limited. With the joint efforts of all partners, I think we can limit the spread. We can contain the virus so that we can stop the outbreak without losing lives.”
Creating safe classrooms
Following the start of the school year in Burundi earlier this week, the UN agency remains concerned about the increase in mpox among children under five, who account for 30 percent of reported cases – as in DRC. To help teachers and parents understand the risks and minimize disruption, the UN agency has supported education authorities in implementing health measures in schools, training staff to recognize early symptoms of mpox and strengthening hand hygiene.
“Make no mistake, we don’t have all the answers. No one does. This is a rapidly evolving situation, with a new, infectious strain, and we are learning more every day about different modes of transmission. And as we learn more, we will update our messaging and our response,” Dr. Ngwakum said.
UNICEF’s appeal will also provide mental health support to parents and frontline workers who may face hostility from some communities, partly because of mpox’s association with sex, which accounts for some, but certainly not all, transmission.
Harmful stigma
“Sex is not something that is talked about on a daily basis in Africa. And if they think you have a sexually transmitted disease, that stigmatizes you,” Dr. Ngwakum explains. “We try to explain that this is not the case. Most children get it through physical contact or contact with animals or contact with contaminated material, which has nothing to do with human-to-human sexual transmission..”
Communities also continue to fear a repeat of previous serious health outbreaks, such as Ebola or COVID-19“So we play an important role in debunking myths and calming fears,” the UNICEF official explained.
Dr. Margaret Harris of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) explained that this was likely due to the prolonged humanitarian emergency in eastern DRC.
“Many of the children we saw die in a horrible and sad way in the Democratic Republic of Congo had very weakened immune systems because they were severely malnourished and suffering from the effects of the conflict. They may also have had other illnesses,” she told reporters in Geneva.
