The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, issued an urgent appeal for nearly $59 million on Friday to halt the rapid spread of mpox in six African countries including Burundi, where youngsters have been impacted the most.
“Children in Burundi are bearing the brunt of the mpox outbreak with alarming rates of infection and health impacts,” said Dr Paul Ngwakum, UNICEF Regional Health Advisor for Eastern and Southern Africa. “Of the nearly 600 reported cases, two-thirds are children under 19 years old and the situation is escalating really rapidly with more than [a] 40 per cent increase in cases over the last three weeks.”
To date in Burundi there have been no reported deaths from mpox.
The UNICEF official insisted that with funding and prompt action, “we have an opportunity to end this outbreak in a very short time period because the geographical area is kind of limited and with concerted effort from all partners, I think, we can limit the spread; we can contain the virus so we can stop the outbreak without any loss of life”.
Following the start of the school year earlier this week in Burundi, the UN agency remains concerned about the rise of mpox among children under five years of age, who represent 30 per cent of reported cases. To help teachers and parents understand the risks and minimize disruption, the UN agency has supported the education authorities to implement health measures in schools, train staff to recognize early symptoms of mpox and reinforce 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 with more information, we update our messaging and our response,” said Dr Ngwakum.
The UNICEF appeal will also provide mental health support for parents and frontline workers who may face hostility from some communities in part because of the association of mpox with sex, which is responsible for some transmission – but by no means all of it.
“Sex in Africa is not something that is spoken of on a daily basis. And if they think you are having a sexually transmitted disease, it stigmatizes you as well,” explained Dr Ngwakum. “We try to explain that this is not the case. Most children have it from body-to-body contact or contact with animals or contact with infected materials, which is not having anything to do with human-to-human sexual contamination.”
Communities also remain fearful of a repeat of previous serious health outbreaks such as Ebola or COVID-19, “so there is an important role we are playing to dispel myths, and calm fears”, the UNICEF official explained.
Highlighting the stark contrast between the high number of suspected deaths from mpox in DRC and Burundi, Dr Margaret Harris from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) explained that this was likely owing to the longstanding humanitarian emergency in eastern DRC.
“Many of the children whom we've seen horribly, sadly die in the Democratic Republic of Congo were very immuno-suppressed through being severely malnourished and having suffered the effects of conflict and perhaps also having other diseases at the same time,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Story: Mpox update Burundi, DRC - UNICEF, WHO
Speakers:
- Dr Paul Ngwakum, UNICEF’s Regional Health Advisor for Eastern and Southern Africa (From Bujumbura)
- Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson
TRT: 02’56”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 20 September 2024 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
RESTRICTIONS: None
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley.
- Wide shot of the UN Geneva Press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Paul Ngwakum, UNICEF’s Regional Health Advisor for Eastern and Southern Africa (from Bujumbura): “Children in Burundi are bearing the brunt of the mpox outbreak with alarming rates of infection and health impacts. Of the nearly 600 reported cases, two-thirds are children under 19 years old and the situation is escalating really rapidly with more than 40 per cent increase in cases over the last three weeks.”
- Medium shot of Press room and participants.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Paul Ngwakum, UNICEF’s Regional Health Advisor for Eastern and Southern Africa (from Bujumbura): “We have an opportunity to end this outbreak in a very short time period because the geographical area is kind of limited and with concerted effort from all partners, I think, we can limit the spread, we can contain the virus so we can stop the outbreak without any loss of life.”
- Wide shot, Press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Paul Ngwakum, UNICEF’s Regional Health Advisor for Eastern and Southern Africa (from Bujumbura): “UNICEF is urgently appealing for $58.8 million to scale up its response across six African countries with Burundi included. In these countries, children are most affected. These funds are essential to stop the transmission of mpox, protect children and maintain critical essential services.”
- Medium-wide, Press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Paul Ngwakum, UNICEF’s Regional Health Advisor for Eastern and Southern Africa (from Bujumbura): “Thirty per cent are children less than five years. And if you look at the data in the DRC, it’s the same pattern. So, this outbreak is more, more severe or affects mostly, children.”
- Medium-wide, Press room and podium.
- SOUNDBITE: Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson: “The three countries reporting the most suspected mpox cases in 2024 are the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 21,835 suspected cases and 717 deaths; in Burundi we have 14,089 suspected cases and no deaths reported, and in Nigeria we have 935 suspected cases and no deaths reported.”
- Medium-wide, Press room and podium.
- SOUNDBITE: Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson: “Many of the children whom we've seen horribly, sadly die in the Democratic Republic of Congo were very immuno-suppressed through being severely malnourished and having suffered the effects of conflict and perhaps also having other diseases at the same time.”
- Medium, journalists, participants.
- Wide, Press room, participants and control booths.
- Medium, journalists.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The appointment on Thursday of Karla Quintana as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is a key development after nearly a year and a half of work by the UN Human Rights Office supporting the institution’s launch.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
The head of the UN migration agency stressed on Friday that Syria is in no position to take back millions of Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime, while there is an urgent need to “re-evaluate” sanctions impacting the war-ravaged country.
1
1
1
Edited News | IIIM , UNHCR
Syria: ‘Key priority’ is to preserve evidence of crimes – UN investigators
In Syria, new access to evidence of horrific human rights violations means that accountability may be closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved, a top UN investigator said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OSE , ICRC , UNHCR
Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centers have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: “Sickening normalisation” of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys
Ongoing military operations by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza continue to devastate Palestinian children and families, with mounting casualties and a critical lack of humanitarian aid for the desperate population.
“Local media reporting here that last night, 30 people were killed in this area in strikes” said a senior emergency officer with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Louise Wateridge, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law
Four independent human rights experts have jointly called for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms regulating the conduct of war.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
Syria: needs continue to grow amid highly uncertain situation, say aid teams
The historic power shift in Syria and the still volatile situation two days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have increased humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 17 million people, including millions of internally displaced, already depended on humanitarian aid before the recent events, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.
2
1
3
Edited News , Press Conferences | OSES
Barely 48 hours since opposition forces including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept into Damascus and forced out President Bashar al-Assad, the top UN negotiator tasked with helping Syrians’ create a peaceful and democratic future insisted that nothing could be taken for granted.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday called on States to do all in their power to end senseless conflicts and suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.