Photo: For desperately poor people living in the cramped slum of Pakajuma, Kinshasa, yellow fever vaccination is vital protection from an outbreak that has already claimed more than 400 lives in Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola. Cramped shanties in the densely populated alleyways are surrounded by dirty stagnant water and poor sanitation – conditions that bring high risk of mosquito-borne diseases like yellow fever, as well as water-borne diseases like cholera. Photo: WHO/E. Jalil
Photo: Even after the official end of the vaccination campaign in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, social mobilizers like Bebe Bola (pictured here) continue to circulate, publicizing ’mop-up’ campaigns and ensuring that every last person has the opportunity to protect themselves from yellow fever and help end the outbreak. Photo: WHO/E. Jalil
Photo: The logistics to vaccinate more than 10.5 million people in Kinshasa province and remote areas bordering Angola against yellow fever have been complex and challenging. WHO and partners have helped the government of Democratic Republic of Congo to organize and transport more than 10 million syringes and 38,000 vaccine carriers - by truck, car, motorcycle, boat, and foot to the targeted 8,000 vaccination sites, many of them in remote and hard-to-reach areas. Photo: A. Clements-Hunt
Photo: On the border with Angola, the health zone of Popokabaka in the Democratic Republic of Congo covers almost 7,000 square kms and is split down the middle by the River Kwango. The car ferry, which once took people backwards and forwards across the river has broken down, and vaccines and other materials often have to be transported over 100 kms in dug-out canoes. WHO works with local health authorities to assess how best to get vaccines and supplies for the campaign to where they are needed in this and the other 14 health zones being targeted along the border. Photo: A. Clements-Hunt
Photo: Many people in these rural border zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo have to walk miles to get to their nearest health centre. Less than half of the vaccination sites have any telephone network and collecting essential data on the progress of the campaign can involve two days of travelling. Local supervisors frequently walk to nearby villages and climb trees in an attempt to access a signal and transmit information to the health zone headquarters. Photo: A. Clements-Hunt
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World Health Organization
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Even after the official end of the vaccination campaign in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, social mobilizers like Bebe Bola (pictured here) continue to circulate, publicizing ’mop-up’ campaigns and ensuring that every last person has the opportunity to protect themselves from yellow fever and help end the outbreak.

Photo: WHO/E. Jalil

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