Several patients in a makeshift Mpox isolation unit in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are in desperate need of medical attention, as hospital staff struggle with medicine shortages and overcrowding.
These patients have been diagnosed with Mpox, a virus that was declared a worldwide health emergency three weeks ago.
Several reports over the last two weeks have indicated that immunizations will be available soon to assist against the new strain of the virus.
Congo’s President, Felix Tshisekedi, has also established a $10 million fund to help with the outbreak response.
Until all of these promises are fulfilled, it looks that health workers in portions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicenter of this outbreak, will continue to struggle to deliver proper healthcare to patients.
In Kavumu, a community in south Kivu, 900 patients have been admitted in the last three months, with health professionals straining to provide adequate support.
“We run out of medicine every day,” said Dr. Musole Mulamba Muva, the head of the hospital. He mentioned that the hospital faces many challenges with limited resources and that international aid has significantly decreased, Reuters reported.
Last week, 135 patients, including toddlers and adults, were crammed into three big tents with inadequate flooring.
To prevent the virus from spreading, family members who regularly bring meals for patients at impoverished hospitals like Kavumu were barred from visiting the mpox ward.
“We have nothing to eat,” said Nzigire Lukangira, a 32-year-old mother of a hospitalized child. “When we ask for medicine to lower our children’s fever, we get nothing,” she added, trying to feed her daughter honey.
