Mpox outbreaks can be halted: WHO
Health workers inside a ward at the Kamenge University Hospital's Mpox treatment center in Bujumbura on August 22, 2024. PHOTO: AFP
Outbreaks of mpox in Central Africa "can be stopped", the World Health Organization said on Monday, but $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 $135 million funding need to carry it out.