From Fear to Triumph: How Equateur Province in the DRC Beat Back Mpox
Imagine a place where fear was a constant companion, a shadow that loomed over every interaction. This was the reality in Mbandaka, the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Equateur province, just a short time ago. Health workers at the Mama wa Elikya center faced an uphill battle against the relentless spread of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. Each day brought new admissions, each one a stark reminder of the invisible threat.
One such hero was Monique Mulo Itala, a registered nurse and mother of five. She found herself on the front lines of this fast-moving epidemic. For Monique, it was a daily struggle between her professional duty and the very real fear of carrying the virus home to her family.
"I was afraid to enter the isolation site," she recalls, her voice tinged with the memory of that fear. "Even with my protective clothing, I was apprehensive about administering treatment or putting patients on an infusion. When I got home, I was tormented. I feared infecting my family, so I asked them to stay away from me."
But here's where it gets controversial... On August 14, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern. The situation in the DRC was particularly dire. Between January and November 2024, the country reported a staggering 8,517 suspected cases, with 1,439 confirmed infections and a heartbreaking 417 deaths.
Equateur province was one of the hardest hit. Over the same period, it recorded 1,262 confirmed cases and 374 deaths, accounting for a staggering 36% of the national toll. This was a crisis of immense proportions.
"We received a large number of cases -- 198 in all," Monique explains. "We were worried because some patients could be infected without showing obvious symptoms. Despite this, we continued to isolate patients, provide care and advise them on hygiene and prevention, while waiting for vaccines."
Thankfully, help arrived. A coordinated international response, spearheaded by the African Development Bank and the WHO, partnered with the Congolese government to strengthen the fight against mpox in Equateur province. This intervention, financed by a $1 million grant from the Bank's Special Relief Fund, focused on the most vulnerable groups: frontline health workers, high-risk populations, children, veterinarians, hunters, and game traders. It focused on four key areas: early diagnosis, vaccination, infection prevention and control, and multi-sectoral coordination.
This collective effort yielded swift results. By October 2025, newly identified suspected cases received rapid laboratory confirmation, appropriate treatment, and systematic vaccination of contacts. This integrated approach led to a sharp drop in new infections and a significant reduction in deaths. Confirmed mpox cases in Equateur province fell by 60%. There were only 14 deaths in 2025, compared to 417 during the same period in 2024.
For Monique, the change was profound. "We were relieved when the vaccines arrived," she says. "They enabled us to protect ourselves and our families. We're no longer afraid to see our patients because our bodies have developed antibodies against mpox." More than 1,406 people were vaccinated in Equateur province, including 3,718 front-line staff.
And this is the part most people miss... Beyond the health facilities, outreach teams went into villages and urban neighborhoods to inform, reassure, and protect communities. Over a million people were reached, helping to dispel rumors and encourage preventive behavior. The response also improved the health system itself. Three laboratories were equipped and upgraded to strengthen detection. Thousands of prevention kits were distributed, and 4,800 GeneXpert cartridges were deployed to accelerate diagnosis.
"Our center has received infection prevention and control kits, as well as vaccines to immunise children who had missed earlier vaccinations," Monique notes. “Out of 100 children identified in our records and traced in the community, we vaccinated 88. The others had left the area at the time of the intervention."
Today, Equateur province has emerged more resilient, with better-equipped facilities, better-trained staff, and communities better prepared for future epidemics. The province is not only celebrating the decline of the mpox virus but also paying tribute to the community’s solidarity and determination that made it possible.
For Monique and many others, fear has given way to hope. "We're telling the community that they need to be vaccinated to protect themselves, that they should be proud to be vaccinated. To vaccinate is to protect yourself. To vaccinate is to love."
What do you think? Do you believe this success story highlights the importance of international cooperation in public health crises? Are there lessons we can learn from Equateur province's experience that can be applied to other outbreaks? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
