In Goma, many people I talked to seem to sense that something new, uncertain, and frightening is coming. But no one can yet predict what it will mean for them or how deeply it will impact their lives.
Mpox is not new in the DRC. The disease is endemic in several parts of the country, and notifications of cases have been on the rise for the past decade. However, in the Kivus, the virus has mutated into a form that seems to be more transmissible between humans, which is a significant concern as cases have been reported in very densely populated areas like Goma—a city of two million people—and in sites where hundreds of thousands have sought refuge due to the ongoing armed crisis in North Kivu.
While the lethality of this new strain remains limited, there is still reason to worry. Why? Because conditions necessary to prevent it from spreading in and around Goma are simply not in place, and the capacity to provide care for patients at risk of complications—young children, people with advanced HIV—remains limited.
How can we expect families living in tiny shelters, without adequate water, sanitation facilities, or even soap, to implement preventive measures? How can malnourished children have the strength to ward off complications? And how can we expect this variant—which is notably transmitted through sexual contact—to not spread in displacement sites given the dramatic levels of sexual violence and exploitation affecting girls and women living there?