The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox a public emergency of international concern. Photo: Bloomberg
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox a public emergency of international concern. This comes amid a rapid increase in the spread of the disease in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and its detection in neighboring countries as well.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a public health emergency of international concern is the highest level of alarm under international health law.
“Today, the Emergency Committee met and advised me that in its view the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice. A public health emergency of international concern is the highest level of alarm under international health law,” Tedros said at a press conference on the outcome of the MPOX Emergency Committee meeting.
“The advice I received from the Emergency Committee and that of @AfricaCDC, which yesterday declared a regional public health security emergency, are aligned,” he added.
The human immunodeficiency virus (MPOX) has been detected in 10 African countries this year, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week. Citing the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Al Jazeera reported that more than 96 percent of the cases are in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The detection and rapid spread of a new mpox clade in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, its detection in neighbouring countries that have not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond are of great concern,” Tedros said.
He stressed that a coordinated international response is needed to contain the outbreak.
“Combined with other outbreaks of other mpox clades elsewhere in Africa, it is clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives,” Tedros said.
The WHO chief stressed that the global health agency has been working on the mpox outbreak in Africa and raising the alarm about it.
Tedros recalled his announcement last week of convening an emergency committee to assess the rise in MPOX cases in the Congo.
He went on to say that the WHO is “working on the ground” with “affected countries,” and also those at risk to contain mpox outbreaks, supporting laboratories to sequence viral samples.
“WHO is working on the ground with affected countries and others at risk through our country and regional offices… For example, we are providing machines to analyse blood samples and confirm mpox cases. We are supporting laboratories to sequence viral samples, we are on the ground supporting case investigation, contact tracing, risk communication and community engagement,” the WHO chief said.
“We are training health workers and supporting doctors to provide the right care; we are supporting countries to access vaccines and develop strategies to distribute them; and much more,” he added.
Tedros said the WHO has developed a regional response plan, which requires $15 million in an initial phase.
“We have released $1.45 million from the WHO Contingency Emergency Fund and plan to release more in the coming days. We are also appealing to donors to fund the remainder of the response plan,” he announced.
“WHO is committed in the coming days and weeks to coordinating the global response, working closely with each of the affected countries and using our presence on the ground to prevent transmission, treat those infected and save lives. I thank the Emergency Committee for its work and advice,” he added.
MPOX cases have been on the rise in the Central African country since last September. A strain of the virus has now been detected in neighbouring countries.
The WHO declared monkeypox, also known as MPOX, a global emergency in 2022 after it spread to more than 70 countries.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: August 15, 2024 | 7:32 a.m. IS
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