Africa CDC warns of rising mpox cases, launches response plan with WHO

Africa is witnessing an "upward trend" in mpox cases, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warned on Friday as it launched a joint continental response plan with the World Health Organization (WHO).

The six-month plan, running from September 2024 to February 2025, has an estimated budget of nearly $600 million, of which 55 percent is allocated to mpox response efforts in affected countries, while the remaining 45 percent is directed toward operational and technical support through partner organizations.

Since 2024, the continent has reported 24,851 suspected mpox cases, including 5,549 confirmed cases and 643 deaths, said Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC, during an online press briefing.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has emerged as the epicenter of the outbreak, accounting for 90 percent of reported cases. The DRC has reported 20,463 suspected cases, including 635 deaths.

Kaseya said there is an "upward trend" in mpox cases across Africa, with at least 14 countries affected, particularly since May 2024.

WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti, who also participated in the briefing, called for a unified approach to contain the outbreak in the DRC. She emphasized the importance of coordination under the Africa CDC-WHO joint continental response plan.

"This is an important milestone for coordinated action between our agencies to support countries by strengthening expertise, mobilizing resources, and rapidly halting the spread of mpox," Moeti said. "By working together, we can achieve more, ensuring that communities and individuals are protected from this virus."

In mid-August, the WHO declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern, citing the emergence of a more dangerous but poorly understood variant, clade 1b, first detected in the DRC in September 2023. Cases of this clade 1b strain have since been reported in several countries, including Sweden and Thailand.

On Wednesday, Guinea confirmed its first mpox case, and Kaseya noted that genetic sequencing tests are underway to determine if the clade 1b variant has spread to West Africa.

The DRC, which received its first batch of 99,100 mpox vaccine doses on Thursday, is currently developing a distribution and vaccination strategy, particularly in the eastern part of the country, where most cases have been reported amid a prolonged humanitarian crisis. However, health authorities have not yet announced when vaccinations will begin.