“Responding to this complex outbreak requires a comprehensive and coordinated international response.,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speak Member states as cases spread from Africa to Europe and Asia.
The press conference was held just over a week after he declared that mpox is a public health emergency of international concern.
New strain of mpox virus
The first global outbreak emerged in 2022, with more than 100,000 confirmed cases reported since then, Tedros said. While the virus continues to circulate at low levels, Africa has seen an unprecedented surge and expansion.
Transmission is largely concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where there have been more than 16,000 suspected cases, including 575 deaths, this year alone.
The increase is due to two separate outbreaks of two mpox virus strains, or groups, in different areas of the country.
Rapid spread
The rapid spread of the new branch, clade 1b, was a key reason he decided to declare mpox a global public health emergency on August 14.
“Over the past month, cases of clade 1b have been reported in four countries neighboring the DRC that have never reported mpox before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. This week, cases have also been reported in Thailand and Sweden,” he said.
We can stop mpox
In response, WHO and partners have developed a plan to prevent human-to-human transmission of mpox through coordinated efforts at global, regional and national levels.
“Let me be clear: this new outbreak of mpox can be controlled and contained,” Tedros stressed.
“Doing so requires coordinated action between international agencies and national and local partners, civil society, researchers and producers, and you, our member states.”
He stressed that the response must be based on equity, global solidarity, community empowerment, human rights and cross-sectoral coordination.
Strategic Response Plan
Mpox’s Global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SRSP) focuses on implementing comprehensive surveillance and response strategies, as well as promoting research and equitable access to medical countermeasures.
“Our initial estimate is that the SPRP will need around $135 million over the next six months for the acute phase of the outbreak. That amount will likely increase as we update the plan in light of growing needs,” Tedros said.
He added that the WHO’s dedicated funding appeal would be published early next week.
Leadership, preparation and coordination
The SPRP also calls for reducing the transmission of diseases from animals to humans and empowering communities to actively participate in disease prevention and control.
At the global level, the focus is on strategic leadership, timely evidence-based guidance, and access to medical countermeasures for the highest-risk groups in affected countries.
In this regard, WHO is working with a wide range of international, regional, national and local partners and networks to strengthen coordination across key areas of preparedness, preparedness and response.
WHO regional offices have also established Incident Management Support Teams (IMSTs) to lead preparedness and response activities, while staff are being ramped up in affected countries.
Prevent transmission, save lives
In addition, the Africa Regional Office, in collaboration with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will jointly lead the coordination of mpox response efforts, as the needs are greatest across continents.
Meanwhile, national and sub-national health authorities will adjust strategies in line with current epidemiological trends.
Tedros noted that WHO has so far released about $1.5 million from its contingency fund for emergencies, and more allocations are expected in the coming days, “until donor funding for the response becomes available.”
He said the agency “will coordinate the global response, working closely with each affected country to prevent transmission, treat those infected and save lives.“ .
