DR Congo launches Ebola vaccination campaign amid outbreak

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has begun a nationwide Ebola vaccination campaign in response to the country’s most severe outbreak in decades. Health authorities announced that the program will deploy the rVSV‑ZEBOV vaccine to high‑risk communities across the eastern provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, where the virus has already claimed more than 1,200 lives since it first appeared in March 2023. The initiative, coordinated by the Ministry of Health with support from the World Health Organization, aims to inoculate approximately 400,000 residents within the next six months.

Key details of the rollout include a phased approach that prioritizes frontline healthcare workers, caregivers, and individuals living in villages with confirmed cases. Each person receives a single dose, with a booster scheduled for 28 days later. The campaign is expected to cover 80 percent of the population in the most affected districts by September, while surveillance teams continue to monitor new infections and conduct contact tracing. The DRC’s decision follows a series of containment failures that highlighted gaps in rapid response and community engagement.

The vaccination effort is part of a broader strategy to curb the spread of the virus and prevent further fatalities. By immunizing vulnerable groups and reinforcing existing public health measures, officials hope to bring the outbreak under control before the end of the year. If successful, the campaign could serve as a model for future Ebola responses across sub‑Saharan Africa.