While the world is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is warning that efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus should not interfere with the prevention of measles and other killer diseases. In Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), more than 6,600 children have already died from a measles outbreak that began in 2019 and is now the world’s largest. As of January 2020, there were more than 50,000 cases in the country. MSF is running a mass vaccination campaign in Mongala province, in the north. “We hope that with this vaccination that we have launched, we will cut the chain of transmission,” says Dr. Philippe Mpabenda, MSF’s intervention manager, “so that measles cases stop and can no longer plunge communities into mourning.” MSF has seen firsthand that other health crises do not stop during emergencies like COVID-19. Governments and donors must not reduce support for vaccinations, malnutrition prevention and treatment, and other urgent medical needs. We cannot allow the response to the COVID-19 pandemic to fuel other health crises.

Make sure you don’t miss weekly video updates and ongoing series about our work in crisis zones across the world. Subscribe to our channel here: https://goo.gl/BtzdsR

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières helps people worldwide where the need is greatest, delivering emergency medical aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from health care. Learn more at https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

SUBSCRIBE: https://goo.gl/BtzdsR

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msf.english

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctorswith…

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSF_USA

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/m-de…

Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org…