WHO launches 6-month plan to stop mpox transmission

GENEVA (WAM)

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday launched a six-month plan to help stop outbreaks of mpox transmission, including ramping up staffing in affected countries and boosting surveillance, prevention and response strategies.

WHO said it expects the plan from September through February next year will require $135 million in funding and aims to improve fair access to vaccines, notably in African countries hardest hit by the outbreak, the Associated Press reported.

“The mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries can be controlled, and can be stopped,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement.

The agency is “significantly scaling up staff” in affected countries, it said. In mid-August, WHO classified the current mpox outbreak as a global health emergency.

Last Tuesday, Congo – the hardest-hit country – reported more than 1,000 new mpox cases over the previous week.

In its latest update on the outbreak, the African Centres for Disease Control reported that as of Thursday, more than 21,300 suspected or confirmed cases and 590 deaths have been reported this year in 12 African countries.