In the heart of Kinshasa, one of the most underserved districts, a powerful story of resilience and public health leadership is unfolding amidst the ongoing mpox outbreak. Since the national declaration of a mpox outbreak in December 2022, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been committed to protecting its most vulnerable populations, including health workers, sex workers, and, for the first time, children.
Early in the outbreak, DRC prioritized vaccinating high-risk groups such as health workers and commercial sex workers, many of whom live in precarious conditions. For sex workers, particularly, the vaccine became a crucial line of defense in a high-risk environment where other preventive measures were difficult to access. Despite the importance of vaccinating children, they were initially excluded from vaccination campaigns due to global regulatory limitations. Between January and August 2024, more than half of the country’s 15,664 confirmed cases were children, and tragically, 463 of the 548 deaths linked to mpox during this period were among minors.
The exclusion of children from vaccination efforts was largely due to the lack of regulatory approval for the use of the MVA-BN (Jynneos) vaccine in minors. Although other vaccines, such as Japan’s LC16, had been approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO), bureaucratic delays hindered access to these life-saving treatments.
This changed in February 2025, when DRC became the first country to approve the MVA-BN vaccine for children. In partnership with global organizations such as Africa CDC, WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi, the government launched an ambitious two-week vaccination campaign targeting children aged 1 to 17, focusing on Pakadjuma, the epicenter of the outbreak. The campaign’s goal was to protect younger generations and curb the spread of the virus by reaching hotspots and vaccinating the contacts of confirmed cases.
The campaign utilized 434,039 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine, a critical resource in the fight against mpox. Health authorities emphasized the importance of community involvement, and the international support from WHO, UNICEF, Africa CDC, and Gavi was pivotal to the campaign’s success. Local leaders, including frontline health workers, were publicly vaccinated to combat misinformation and encourage participation.
As of early 2025, DRC had reported 15,852 confirmed mpox cases, with children under 15 accounting for nearly 44% of the cases. This highlighted the urgent need for a targeted vaccination strategy. In Kinshasa, vaccination coverage reached an impressive 70% of the target population. By the end of the campaign, over 525,000 people across DRC had received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 39% of those vaccinated being children.
The success of the vaccination campaign was largely attributed to effective risk communication, community mobilization, and trust-building efforts. However, despite this success, the campaign faced challenges, including a critical shortage of vaccines. Authorities called for additional doses to sustain the momentum and ensure the protection of remaining at-risk populations.
With positive results in Kinshasa, DRC plans to extend the vaccination campaign to other provinces, especially South Kivu, which has been severely affected by both the outbreak and an ongoing humanitarian crisis. The situation in South Kivu will require additional doses and logistical support to ensure the swift distribution of vaccines.
Other countries, like Uganda, which is also grappling with high numbers of mpox cases, are resuming their vaccination efforts with support from international partners. The DRC’s experience provides a model for other regions facing similar challenges, demonstrating that timely, coordinated vaccination efforts, combined with strong community engagement, can effectively combat outbreaks and save lives.
