DRC (Lusenda): Teachers demand hygiene equipment from UNHCR to protect themselves against Mpox

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the school year started on September 2, 2024. In the Lusenda camp in South Kivu province, Burundian refugees have been living in fear since the discovery of four people infected with monkeypox. A context that is pushing teachers to ask UNHCR to provide them with hygiene equipment before the start of the school year. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Six schools with a population of more than 5,000 schoolchildren and students in the Lusenda camp and its surroundings are concerned. Teachers are asking UNHCR to provide them with soap, buckets and, in some cases, to increase the number of classes.

“We want UNHCR to train us fight Mpox, we demand hygiene materials and appropriate vaccines,” said George N., a teacher at Sibatwa secondary school, a school located about a hundred meters from Lusenda camp. This site is located in South Kivu province in eastern Congo.

This is also the case for André N., a teacher at Lusambo primary school. “There are a big number of students in Lusenda schools. We have no solution. There are classes where the number of students is more than 70 and you can find four sitting on the same bench. We are asking for other classes,” he stressed.

The refugee representative in Lusenda camp, Hassan Cuma, said that measures have been taken to combat this epidemic.

Last week, the UN expressed concern about how the Mpox outbreak continues to spread in refugee camps in South Kivu province.

According to UNHCR, 42 refugees have already been infected with monkeypox in the province.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recalls that more than 18,000 people have been infected with the disease, with at least 615 deaths recorded in the DRC.

The Minister of Health in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr Roger Samuel Kamba, is urging parents to encourage their children to observe hygiene measures to protect themselves against Mpox.

The Lusenda camp is home to more than 30,000 Burundian refugees.