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
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said Tuesday UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk was outraged by the repeated large-scale attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN warns against repeating abuses in South Kordofan that occurred in El Fasher.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Mozambique floods heighten disease, malnutrition risks – UN agencies
Catastrophic flooding in Mozambique is causing massive disruption to lives and livelihoods across the country, increasing the risk of disease and exposing urban areas to crocodiles, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OCHA
Yemen: Children are dying and it’s going to get worse, aid veteran warns
In Yemen, renewed political instability threatens and economic woes linked to the war to complicate the already difficult task of helping vulnerable people suffering from deepening hunger, illness and displacement, the UN's top aid official there said on Monday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Ukraine: Families in ‘survival mode’ amid Russian strikes and -18°C cold
Families across Ukraine are in “constant survival mode” amid ongoing waves of Russian missile and drone strikes that have left blocks without power for days at a time, while temperatures plunge to a deadly -18°C (-0.4°F), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence urges Iranian authorities to end violent repression and calls for accountability.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza: A ceasefire that ‘still buries children’ is not enough, says UNICEF
Airstrikes, drone strikes and hypothermia are among the lethal conditions prevailing in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 children killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
At the UN bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Marta Hurtado commented on the widespread repression and intimidation against political opposition ahead of the general elections in Uganda.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Aid agencies marked 1,000 days of war in Sudan on Friday with a grim reminder that the conflict has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis and largest displacement emergency. Every day, civilians have been “paying the price for a war they did not choose”, said the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Ravina Shamdasani, UN Human Rights spokesperson, made the following comments at the bi-weekly press briefing of the United Nations on the United States’ intervention in Venezuela.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR
Venezuela: US military intervention ‘far from victory for human rights’, makes world less safe – UN rights office
The UN rights office (OHCHR) on Tuesday expressed concern over the situation in Venezuela following the United States military operation and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, insisting that the move runs counter to international law and damages global security.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
As fighting spreads across Sudan in a dangerous new escalation, "people are scared, people are fleeing their homes," the UN migration agency, IOM, said on Friday, noting that more than 50,000 people have fled attacks and violence since late October in Kordofan region alone.