“Vaccines save lives; fear endangers them”
Jeffrey Kluger
American editor
Since the start of 2024, 5,549 Mpox cases have been reported, which have resulted in 643 deaths. 91% of the cases were in the Congo, with Burundi the second most affected country. Most infections are in children under the age of 15. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Mpox outbreak in 12 African countries a global emergency.
In acknowledgment of the growing crisis, the WHO and the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention have launched a continent-wide response plan. 200,000 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine were donated by the European Union (EU) through the European Health Emergency Response Authority (HERA) and have already arrived in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa.
Ultimately, awareness and education are crucial in facilitating a strong uptake of vaccinations. In the case of the Mpox outbreak, a vaccination campaign against Mpox in Congo will begin on October 2nd. The campaign will focus on adults in the three most affected provinces: Equateur, South Kivu and Sankuru. This campaign should both help inform individuals about the vaccine and increase the number of vaccinated people in those areas.
Helping underserved communities spread awareness
Earlier this year, in partnership with the U.S. Peace Corps, illuminAid conducted a Video Education Workshop in Cameroon. The workshop was funded by the United States Agency for International Development/President's Malaria Initiative. This project aimed to equip Peace Corps and local volunteers with the skills necessary to produce health education videos bespoke to the local population. illuminAid tailored the topic of the workshops to address specific health concerns of the region, namely malaria prevention and vaccination. Participants were also provided with cameras, cordless projectors and solar-powered recharge kits.
By the end of the four-day workshop, attendees gained invaluable knowledge on how to produce educational videos that will generate long-lasting behavioral change. illuminAid’s innovative approach to teaching is based on the Social Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) model of education. SBCC stresses the importance of considering cultural nuances when trying to initiate positive social and individual reform, and it’s imperative to vaccination campaigns.
Saving lives
The latest Mpox outbreak proves that vaccination campaigns are more important than ever, and, as with malaria in Cameroon, Mpox in Congo cannot be contained if people are simply told about the benefits of immunization. To contain an outbreak, knowledge about vaccination must be delivered in such a way as to influence a person’s behavior so that they ultimately decide to go out and get vaccinated.
illuminAid has seen firsthand the value of localized, contextualized SBCC to dispel myths and misinformation that build fear around vaccinations. It's one of the many reasons our mission is to continue empowering NGOs with training and equipment for video-based SBCC to accelerate learning in critical subjects like disease prevention. Once fear is eliminated, people can make informed choices based on the facts.
A vaccine can be the difference between life and death.
We should not let fear or disinformation cloud this truth.
