Concerned over impact of mpox on refugees and displaced in Africa, UNHCR calls for inclusion and international solidarity

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR’s Public Health Chief Dr. Allen Maina – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Geneva, 27 August 2023 – Without additional, urgent support, the recently declared mpox outbreak could become devastating for refugees and displaced communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and other impacted countries in Africa, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warns today.

In DRC’s South Kivu Province, one of the regions hardest hit by mpox, at least 42 suspected cases have been identified amongst the refugee population. Confirmed and suspected cases have also been recorded among the refugee populations in the Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are over 18,000 suspected cases and 615 deaths to date in the DRC, and more than 220 cases of the new strain, clade 1b, in countries neighbouring the DRC.

Suspected cases are being reported in conflict-impacted provinces that host the majority of DRC´s 7.3 million internally displaced people. In these areas, the virus threatens to exacerbate an already impossible situation for a population devastated by decades of conflict, forced displacement, appalling human rights abuses and a lack of international assistance.

For those fleeing violence, implementing many of the mpox prevention measures is a tremendous challenge. Over the years, cyclical violence and attacks, compounded by natural catastrophes, have driven displaced people into overcrowded shelters, with poor water and sanitation facilities and strained services. Insecurity has left many areas cut off from humanitarian assistance.

Displaced families living in crowded schools, churches and tents in farmers’ fields have no space to isolate when they develop symptoms of the disease. UNHCR staff have found some affected individuals trying diligently to follow preventive measures and protect their communities by sleeping outside. A balanced diet is also important for recovery, a reality out of reach for many of the displaced who subsist on meagre food rations. Rapid testing of suspected cases is critical, but in unstable zones of the eastern DRC, the security risks and circuitous routes necessary to get samples to a laboratory mean delays, hence test results cannot be used effectively to break transmission chains.

Working under national health authorities and with the WHO, UNHCR and partners have reinforced handwashing points in public spaces in refugee camps and transit centres, and have scaled up health system preparedness and response measures including screening at the entrance of impacted refugee camps.

In countries where cases among the national population have been confirmed or suspected, information and awareness-raising activities have been initiated to ensure access to accurate information in the languages spoken by displaced communities, but the scale at which the outbreak is evolving means that there are not enough community health workers to meet needs.

UNHCR reiterates that guaranteeing the full inclusion of refugees and other forcibly displaced people in national preparedness and response measures to address this public health emergency is crucial – from monitoring and preparedness to medical care. UNHCR remains available to support national preparedness and response plans in affected and at-risk countries. UNHCR praised the DRC for having already integrated refugees into its national preparedness and health response plans.

UNHCR’s humanitarian response in the DRC has received just 37 per cent of the $250 million required in 2024 to meet the urgent needs of displaced people, with health activities being one of the three least funded parts of the plan.

International solidarity is urgently needed to expand health services, isolation centres, humanitarian shelters, access to water and soap for those forced to flee. In conflict zones, peace is also desperately needed, to ensure a sustainable response to stop the spread of the disease.

For more information, please contact:

• In Kinshasa, Joel Smith, smithj@unhcr.org, +243 82 52 57 774
• In Geneva, Olga Sarrado, sarrado@unhcr.org, +41 797 402 307