Measles vaccination campaign launched in DRC
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00:00The call to get vaccinated rings out in Lothai, a hamlet in the Katoko-Kombe Territory, in
00:09the centre of Congo.
00:12A measles outbreak has hit the area, and the village church has been transformed into a
00:16vaccination centre.
00:18Children pass through all day long in order to get their jabs.
00:21You're brave.
00:23In these cool boxes are the precious vaccine doses.
00:26The nurses' movements are quick and precise.
00:29I arrived at 6am, and I'm going to vaccinate 700 children until 6pm.
00:40That's how important it is to fight measles.
00:44Humanitarians are desperate to avoid a repeat of the 2018 measles epidemic, when more than
00:498,000 people died nationwide, according to official figures.
00:53But in the territory of Katoko-Kombe, disease outbreaks are increasing due to a lack of
00:57doctors and medicine, as well as the fiendish difficulty of reaching remote areas.
01:03This mother and daughter have arrived at Katoko-Kombe Hospital exhausted after a motorbike journey
01:09of over 50 kilometres.
01:11At the hospital, no fewer than 25 children a day are treated for severe cases of measles,
01:16malaria and malnutrition.
01:19Dr. Cyril keeps up a non-stop stream of consultations.
01:25Did he take milk?
01:27All 80 beds in the paediatric ward are occupied, and the children's parents are worried.
01:33Has he had his injection?
01:34One patient, a small girl, is under particularly close observation.
01:44She's in a coma, suffering from a severe form of malaria and meningitis.
01:50We've put her on the molecules that treat both severe malaria and meningitis, and the
01:59outcome will be favourable so long as the treatment is tailored.
02:06For the health authorities, carrying out vaccinations is an essential measure.
02:11The United Nations hope to immunise over 32,000 children in the Katoko-Kombe territory.