Kinshasa – Sophie Lipanda, a illness prevention and management veteran in Kinshasa, has devoted over 10 years working in threat communication and neighborhood engagement (RCCE). When the mpox outbreak hit the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this yr, she instantly joined efforts to tell and defend her neighborhood.

Sophie is aware of the significance of elevating public consciousness throughout public well being emergency response. She spends her days sharing correct details about the illness by house visits, group discussions and public consciousness campaigns. She is one in all 45 facilitators chargeable for overseeing 35 well being zones in Kinshasa. By her management, greater than 2000 neighborhood well being mobilizers have been skilled, leading to a mean of 4 neighborhood well being mobilizers working in every well being zone.

“I learnt that to be neighborhood employee, one should study to pay attention and reply to the issues of the neighborhood and be able to adapt. Coaching by World Well being Group (WHO) has enabled me to deepen my data and enhance my working methodology inside the neighborhood,” says Sophie.

Neighborhood engagement is a vital element of the mpox response that features illness surveillance, an infection prevention and management, and case administration. WHO has skilled neighborhood well being staff to equip them with the abilities to successfully assist the outbreak response measures. 

“Individuals now come to me extra simply. A measure of belief has been established, and once I share a message, they consider it,” she says, mentioning that in her space of labor alone voluntary reviews from the neighborhood have elevated from 14 to 80 per week. “Throughout our discussions, I share with them the true info concerning the illness, and I’m at all times able to reply their quite a few questions and issues concerning the illness to assist calm their fears.”

For Pierrette Mubadi Ngankey, public info officer on the Public Well being Emergency Operations Centre, communities want dependable and reliable info to make knowledgeable decisions that can allow them to undertake more healthy behaviours. “If we wish to finish this outbreak, we should improve consciousness by demanding unwavering dedication from stakeholders in any respect ranges,” she says. 

With WHO’s assist, interventions have been rolled out throughout six provinces: North Kivu, South Kivu, Mai-Ndombe, Tshopo, Kasai, Ituri and Equateur. Neighborhood staff have been actively visiting public locations similar to markets, colleges, locations of worship to have interaction with folks. WHO has additionally supplied technical assist for the event of 24000 communication supplies, together with posters, banners, and leaflets in 4 languages distributed to strategic places within the provinces, together with entry factors. 

Sophie has helped increase consciousness amongst a number of hundred neighborhood members for the reason that mpox outbreak started, visiting a mean of 74 households per week, reaching practically 500 folks weekly. She has additionally skilled about 60 neighborhood mobilizers, with 10 in every well being space. One of many trainees, Bola Mputu, 54 years previous, who dwell within the Masiala well being zone shares.

“Earlier than speaking with Sophie, we believed all the pieces we heard. Some thought the illness didn’t exist, whereas others additionally stated that they had been merely circumstances of chickenpox or measles, and that each one the bulletins made concerning the illness had been simply to make cash. By sharing the true info, our communities now makes knowledgeable choices about their well being and their lives, with out worry or misinformation.”

Whereas earlier mpox outbreaks have occurred within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the continued one, declared a public well being emergency of worldwide concern on 14 August 2024, has distinctive challenges. It has unfold to 12 provinces that had by no means reported circumstances earlier than, and sexual contact, which was not seen in earlier outbreaks, is now contributing to the unfold. Moreover, uncommon symptom, similar to genital or anal lesions, have been noticed in some sufferers, making prognosis and therapy harder and probably delaying applicable administration. 

“These components have brought about the epidemic to unfold shortly, making the well being response more difficult. Subsequently, we should try to assist the authorities to provoke dialogue with communities, by focusing additionally on high-risk areas similar to internally displaced folks’s camps, mining areas and brothels,” explains Katson Katya Maliro, focus for RCCE with WHO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“If the illness spreads, then we’re all prone to getting sick, so we should at all times increase consciousness and assist as a lot as we are able to. This work permits me to be nearer to my neighborhood, to grasp their wants and to serve them,” says Sophie.