Misinformation hurts effort to immunize children in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Judy Woodruff:

Millions of children around the world did not get routine vaccines as a result of disruptions and disinformation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

That is the largest sustained decline in childhood immunizations in a generation, according to the United Nations. In some countries, as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, these setbacks threaten to undo years of public health advances.

Special correspondent Benedict Moran and video journalist Jorgen Samso report.

Benedict Moran:

In this health center on the outskirts of Kinshasa, community health workers are preparing to administer a round of routine vaccinations.

In Africa alone, every year, more than 800,000 lives are saved because of routine vaccines, according to the World Health Organization. Though a painful part of growing up, vaccines are one of the most successful public health interventions. It is the safest way to protect children from life-threatening diseases like polio, measles, rubella and tetanus.

But over the last two years, vaccination rates are plummeting, not just here, but across the planet. And doctors are worried. For the first time in a generation, last year, more than 25 million children missed out on basic vaccines. Health workers fear that, without focusing greater efforts on increasing the rate of childhood vaccination, many diseases that were once under control may return.

In July, the U.N.'s World Health Organization sounded the alarm.

Dr. Kate O’Brien, World Health Organization:

This is the largest sustained decline in childhood vaccination in approximately 30 years. This threatens increased outbreaks, deaths, and for some who survive the illnesses that they otherwise wouldn't have gotten lifelong consequences.

Benedict Moran:

One major reason for the decline, the global shutdowns associated with COVID-19 put a strain on public health systems. In the DRC, which is the size of one-quarter of the continental us, getting services to far-flung parts of the country is not easy.

We are on our way to the Lukunga (ph), an island in the middle of the Congo River, between Congo Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville, the neighboring country. Villages here are extremely remote, and it's very difficult for vaccine teams to reach them.

Prior to April this year, the area had no permanent health center. Under COVID lockdowns, it became even more isolated.

Polycarpe Mboma, Community Health Worker (through translator):

We don't want anything more than that we have difficulty reaching this area because it is very far. The distance is 34 miles and you have to cross the river to reach here.

Benedict Moran:

Lukunga Island is a small community of farmers. There are no roads and no electricity.

With health systems now trying to return to a post-COVID normal, it's a game of catchup. That means walking from house to house, calling loudly for everyone to gather at this makeshift clinic under a cluster of bamboo.

Polycarpe Mboma (through translator):

These vaccines are for kids between zero and 11 months. They are to protect them against polio and other viruses.

Benedict Moran:

These parents require no convincing. Month by month and vaccine by vaccine, health workers hope to bring immunization rates here in these isolated areas back to normal.

But elsewhere in the Congo, getting back to normal requires rebuilding trust. Vaccine misinformation, especially on social media, is perhaps the most influential reason why overall vaccination rates are going down. Less than 5 percent of the country is vaccinated against COVID-19.

Videos like this one, often originating from outside Africa, spread lies that COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility or even death. That makes some Congolese resistant, not only against the COVID-19 vaccine, but increasingly against other routine vaccines as well.

Aime Cikomola, Congo National Vaccine Program (through translator):

The pandemic has affected our vaccination system and created reluctance among the population regarding all vaccination.

The information comes from social media. In some communities, they cannot distinguish what is true and what is not.

Benedict Moran:

COVID vaccine centers like this one in the center of Kinshasa vaccinate only a few hundred people every day. That's a trickle for a city of more than 17 million people; 28-year-old Acha Cristel was one of the few in line. He says he had to overcome his own fears before coming here.

Acha Cristel, Kinshasa Resident (through translator):

I said, what is the vaccine for if it kills me? Why take it? It really discouraged me. But I said to myself, no, I won't be discouraged. I have to take the vaccine.

Benedict Moran:

That's why education is key. And restoring trust, not just in the COVID-19 vaccine, but in all routine vaccinations, starts here at Kinshasa's central vaccine warehouse.

This vaccine storage facility on the outskirts of Kinshasa is one of the largest in Africa, but it's not just a warehouse. It also serves as a center of education. Community leaders are often brought here to learn about vaccines and the influence of disinformation.

DRC is home to huge revivalist Christian ministries. And those churches are sometimes hot spots of vaccine hesitancy.

As part of a U.N. Children's Fund and Ministry of Health campaign, the leaders from many of these parishes in Kinshasa get a VIP behind-the-scenes tour and see for themselves the high-tech infrastructure required to refrigerate and store the country's stock of vaccines. They then spread the word, vaccines save lives.

Akarasis Maksas, Vaccine Outreach Team, Congo Ministry of Health (through translator): Pastors need to care not just about the spiritual health of their community, but also about the general well-being of their community.

And for kids, with regards to vaccines, they need to find an environment that is favorable to their well-being.

Benedict Moran:

Back at the community health center, health workers know that focusing on education is an approach that works. Today, vaccine rates here are high. But that wasn't always the case.

Sayokan Konde, Health Worker (through translator):

As there were rumors everywhere on social media, people were scared. Even the women weren't coming here. Now, with sensitization, the community has approached us. Now everyone has access to vaccinations.

And the children, even the COVID vaccine, people tend to come asking for it, even if it's not in stock.

Benedict Moran:

It's a small success story that health workers hope can apply to the rest of this vast and sprawling country.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Benedict Moran in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.