WHO declares Africa's mpox outbreak a global health emergency as new strain spreads

The mpox outbreak ravaging the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is now a global health emergency, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

"The detection and rapid spread of a new Clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighbouring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday after announcing that the mpox outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), the United Nations’ health agency’s highest alarm.

The WHO said it needs $15 million (€13.6 million) to support Africa’s mpox response, and that it has already released $1.45 million (€1.32 million) from its emergency reserves. 

Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the group plans to allocate more funding "in the coming days".

"It's clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives," he said.

Mpox has been endemic in West and Central Africa for decades, but the DRC is now the epicentre of a dangerous new strain that emerged last year and is spreading through sexual and close personal contact. 

The strain is an offshoot of the Clade I virus, which has a case fatality rate of about 10 per cent, and has health authorities worried because cases are rising quickly.

Meanwhile, South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire are also grappling with cases of another mpox strain.

More than 14,000 mpox cases and 524 deaths have been reported in at least 13 African countries in 2024, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, which reported their first cases of the new strain in recent weeks.

Officials believe the tally is an undercount due to the lack of testing in the region.

The WHO