The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has declared the upsurge of monkeypox (mpox) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR).
Dr. Tedros’s declaration follows the advice of an IHR Emergency Committee of independent experts who convened earlier in the day to review data presented by WHO and affected countries. The Committee informed the Director-General that the upsurge of mpox constitutes a PHEIC, potentially spreading further across Africa and possibly beyond the continent.
In his declaration, Dr. Tedros emphasized the urgency of the situation:
The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighboring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives.
WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti highlighted ongoing efforts: “Significant efforts are already underway in close collaboration with communities and governments, with our country teams working on the frontlines to help reinforce measures to curb mpox. With the growing spread of the virus, we’re scaling up further through coordinated international action to support countries bring the outbreaks to an end.”
Committee Chair Professor Dimie Ogoina underscored the global implications: “The current upsurge of mpox in parts of Africa, along with the spread of a new sexually transmissible strain of the monkeypox virus, is an emergency, not only for Africa, but for the entire globe. Mpox, originating in Africa, was neglected there, and later caused a global outbreak in 2022. It is time to act decisively to prevent history from repeating itself.”
The two vaccines currently in use for mpox are recommended by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization and approved by WHO-listed national regulatory authorities and individual countries including Nigeria and the DRC. Last week, the Director-General triggered the process for Emergency Use Listing for mpox vaccines, accelerating vaccine access for lower-income countries that have not yet issued their national regulatory approval. This listing also enables partners including Gavi and UNICEF to procure vaccines for distribution.
WHO is working with countries and vaccine manufacturers on potential monkeypox vaccine donations and coordinating with partners through the interim Medical Countermeasures Network to facilitate equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other tools.
The WHO anticipates an immediate funding requirement of $15 million to support surveillance, preparedness, and response activities. A needs assessment is being undertaken across the three levels of the Organization. To allow for an immediate scale-up, WHO has released $1.45 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies and may need to release more in the coming days.
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