Increased rates of acute malnutrition in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has put 4.5 million children aged under five and over 3.7 million pregnant and breastfeeding women at heightened risk of contracting and dying of mpox, Save the Children said.
The latest figures on malnutrition from the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) – the leading international authority on food insecurity – come as DRC is at the epicentre of an outbreak of a new strain of mpox that has so far killed at least 632 people, adding further pressures to a country where about a quarter of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance [1].
Greg Ramm, Country Director for Save the Children in the DRC, said:
“These grave new figures add extra urgency to the critical need to prevent the spread of mpox and other diseases across the DRC. We know from decades of experience that malnutrition weakens immune systems, making it harder to fight off disease and more likely that children die from conditions such as diarrhoea. We know from just the past few months that malnourished children across the country, living with poor sanitation and healthcare, are contracting and dying of mpox at a far higher rate than adults. This new variant exacerbates challenges caused by conflict, displacement and poverty that many families are already facing.
“We are now at a crossroads – do we let this deadly mpox virus spread and cause a catastrophe among children, knowing what we know? Or do we use this knowledge to act urgently to prevent the spread of the virus, to treat children, strengthen the country’s health systems and water, sanitation and hygiene services and protect children and families?
“For several years now, the country has had some of the world’s worst rates of hunger and malnutrition. For far too long the world has let down children in DRC. It’s time for donors and agencies to step up to protect them.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Save the Children.