GENEVA: Outbreaks of mpox in Central Africa “can be stopped”, the World Health Organization said on Monday (Aug 26), but US$135 million of funding may be needed to tackle the disease’s spread.
Earlier in August, the WHO declared an international health emergency after a surge in cases linked to a new mpox strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has since spread beyond its borders.
“The mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries can be controlled, and can be stopped,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is quoted as saying in the statement.
But “doing so requires a comprehensive and coordinated plan of action”, the director-general added.
Launched on Monday, the WHO’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan covers the period from September 2024 to February 2025, predicting a US$135 million funding need to carry it out.
It will soon launch an appeal to finance the global response, which will be carried out with partners including the African Union’s public health watchdog.
In the meantime, it has released around US$1.5 million from its emergency reserve fund.
Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals that can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.
It causes fever, muscle pains and skin lesions and in an increasing number of cases, death.
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