Kisangani, October 21st, 2026 (CPA).- 8,961 frontline healthcare workers out of a target of 14,960 have been vaccinated in Tshopo Province, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the provincial coordinator of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) has said on Wednesday.
“We have reached a coverage rate of 59%. The target is to reach 90%. At present, 41% of frontline healthcare workers have not yet been vaccinated, even though the public is clamouring to be vaccinated,” Dr Stephane Itakama has said. This vaccination official in Tshopo has revealed that triage procedures had not been followed, resulting in even children under the age of 18 years being vaccinated, whilst noting that there are health zones where resistance to public health activities is fierce, notably the Mangobo and Kabondo health zones. The former has achieved a coverage rate of 36% and the latter 31%.
Furthermore, regarding the challenges faced, the EPI coordinator has indicated that it is imperative to meet the expected target, given the discrepancies recorded between the DHIS2 data and the figures processed in Excel. Moreover, Dr Itakama has reported that 6,139 doses are still available, of which 2,600 are still frozen and 3,169 have been thawed; these have been distributed across the health zones for use until November 4th, before they expire. Finally, the provincial EPI coordinator has explained that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has provided the programme with eight (8) vehicles to facilitate mobility, three of which have been allocated to the Makiso-Kisangani health zone, with the remainder going to other health zones affected by the epidemic, complete with all necessary equipment.