Sex workers find themselves at the center of Congo's mpox outbreak
Sex workers are among those hardest-hit by the mpox outbreak in eastern Congo's Kamituga town
KAMITUGA, Congo — It's been four months since Sifa Kunguja recovered from mpox, but as a sex worker, she said, she's still struggling to regain clients, with fear and stigma driving away people who've heard she had the virus.
“It’s risky work,” Kunguja, 40, said from her small home in eastern Congo. “But if I don’t work, I won't have money for my children.”
Sex workers are among those hardest-hit by the mpox outbreak in Kamituga, where some 40,000 of them are estimated to reside — many single mothers driven by poverty to this mineral-rich commercial hub where gold miners comprise the majority of the clientele. Doctors estimate 80% of cases here have been contracted sexually, though the virus also spreads through other kinds of skin-to-skin contact.
Sex workers say the situation threatens their health and livelihoods. Health officials warn that more must be done to stem the spread — with a focus on sex workers — or mpox will creep deeper through eastern Congo and the region.
Mpox causes mostly mild symptoms such as fever and body aches, but serious cases can mean prominent, painful blisters on the face, hands, chest and genitals.
Kunguja and other sex workers insist that despite risks of reinfection or spreading the virus, they have no choice but to keep working. Sex work isn't illegal in Congo, though related activities such as solicitation are. Rights groups say possible legal consequences and fear of retribution — sex workers are subject to high rates of violence including rape and abuse — prevent women from seeking medical care. That can be especially detrimental during a public health emergency, according to experts.
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