For two consecutive years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been facing the devastating effects of simian smallpox, known by its common name monkeypox or mpox, which is a viral illness causing skin rash, lesions, fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and in severe cases, death. While this is not the first time that the DRC has been hit by monkeypox, the emergence of this epidemic is becoming worrying as a new, more deadly strain of the disease has been identified in several of the DRC's neighboring countries. As of August 15th, 2024 the World Health Organization has once again declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern.
In Mai Ndombe, communities have been seriously affected by mpox since May 2023. Anyone can get mpox through touch, kissing, sexual contact, hunting or cooking animals, or touching materials such as contaminated sheets, clothes or needles. Because of this, even many children in Mai Ndombe suffer from the mpox outbreaks.
Given the gravity of the pandemic, Wildlife Works, through its community-centered Mai Ndombe REDD+ project, stepped in to lend a helping hand to the DRC government in 2023.
In the hands of the provincial Minister of Health, N'SINGA UNKAMVELA MDEJI Anne-Marie, a delegation from Wildlife Works led by Chief of Staff José Bokawo handed over nearly 5 tons of medicines, personal protective equipment and other items. The ceremony took place in the presence of the Inongo Territory Chief Medical Officer, Dr Blanchard Bompeti, and other doctors working in the area. Dr Blanchard Bompeti confided:
"It's a feeling of satisfaction because we were out of medicine. Era-Congo (Wildlife Works' subsidiary in the DRC) has given to us a huge breath of fresh air. We are already establishing a distribution plan to get these drugs across the territory. We must also put an awareness team in place to stop contamination upstream by applying barrier measures. Avoid contact with sick people, apply hand hygiene, do not eat wild animals found dead."
Wildlife Works also supported the campaign to combat mpox by paying medical personnel on the forefront of the campaign to eradicate the epidemic. Dr. Christian Ntoko, a doctor employed by Wildlife Works, was also deployed to the village of Bosongo with the mobile clinic team, where over fifty people were infected with monkeypox. By the end of the campaign in Bosongo, only 3 of the 50+ people had lost their lives.
“The patients couldn't pay [for healthcare], so they had to be treated for free, but thanks to Wildlife Works the providers were compensated. On both the medications and the protection team, and on the financial side, the company took care of it. So, if the company wasn't there for the intervention, I think the entire village would have perished.” - Dr. Christian Ntoko
This year, the epidemic has already claimed 4 lives in the Mai-Ndombe REDD+ project area. At the time of writing, Dr Christian Ntoko and the mobile clinic have recorded 54 cases of mpox treated within the Mai Ndombe REDD+ conservation concession. Thanks to the tireless work of Dr. Ntoko, his team, and funding from carbon credits, lives have been saved and there are resources to continue educational campaigns to stop the further spread of this disease.
Learn more about Dr. Ntoko and how communities used their carbon revenue to build a hospital through this short film:
