The Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, announced that an Emergency Committee established under the International Health Regulations will be assembled to deliberate on whether the ongoing Mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo constitutes a global public health emergency.
Dr. Ghebreyesus made this statement during a virtual media briefing held on Wednesday.
The committee, consisting of impartial experts representing various relevant fields from across the globe, will convene at the earliest opportunity.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has been grappling with a significant Mpox outbreak since the start of this year, reporting over 14,000 cases and 511 fatalities.
Mpox outbreaks have been recurrent in the DRC for many years, with the number of cases steadily rising annually.
Notably, the reported case count in the first half of this year matches that of the entire previous year, and the virus has now spread to provinces that were previously unaffected.
“In the past month, about 50 confirmed and more suspected cases have been reported in four countries neighbouring the DRC that have not been reported before – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.
“Mpox outbreaks are caused by different viruses called clades. Clade 1 has been circulating in the DRC for years, while clade 2 was responsible for the global outbreak which began in 2022.
“The current outbreak in the Eastern DRC is caused by a new offshoot of clade 1, called clade 1b, which causes more severe disease than clade 2.
“Clade 1b has been confirmed in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, while the clade in Burundi is still being analysed. At the same time, cases of clade 1a have been reported this year in DRC, the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo, while clade 2 has been reported in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa,” Ghebreyesus explained.
The WHO boss highlighted that the organisation is working with the governments of the affected countries, the Africa CDC, NGOs, civil society, and other partners to understand and address the drivers of these outbreaks.
He elaborated stopping transmission will require a comprehensive response, with communities at the centre.
“WHO has Standing Recommendations on Mpox which include advice not to impose travel restrictions on affected countries.
“WHO has developed a regional response plan, requiring $15 million to support surveillance, preparedness, and response activities.
“We have released $1 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support scale-up of the response, and we plan to release more in the coming days,” Ghebreyesus stated.
Two Mpox vaccines have been endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and approved by recognized national regulatory authorities, and are recommended for use by WHO’s expert immunization advisory group.
“I have triggered the process for Emergency Use Listing of both vaccines, which will accelerate vaccine access, particularly for lower-income countries, which have not yet issued their national regulatory approval.
“Emergency Use Listing also enables partners including Gavi and UNICEF to procure vaccines for distribution.
“WHO is grateful to Japan, the United States, the European Union, and manufacturers for working with us on vaccine donations. We are working with all partners through the interim Medical Countermeasures Network to facilitate equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other tools.
“In light of the spread of Mpox outside DRC, and the potential for further international spread within and outside Africa, I have decided to convene an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations to advise me on whether the outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.
“The committee will meet as soon as possible and will be made up of independent experts from a range of relevant disciplines from around the world,” he said.
The African Union’s Permanent Representatives Committee has repurposed $10.4 million from COVID-19 funds to support the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s efforts to combat the Mpox outbreak in Africa, providing critical emergency funding to bolster the continent’s response.
“The funding released by the PRC will complement national efforts by African governments and support from various partners to strengthen five critical areas in the fight against Mpox: enhancing Mpox surveillance and surge capacity, boosting laboratory testing and genomic sequencing capacity, strengthening regional and national data collection and analytics, enhancing case management, infection prevention and control, risk communication, community engagement, and improving access to and delivery of vaccines, diagnostics, and supplies across the continent,” the Africa CDC disclosed in a statement.
