WHO to Announce This Week Whether Mpox Outbreak in Africa is a Global Emergency. Growing Concern Over Deadly New Strain: WHO to Decide This Week if Mpox Outbreak in Africa is a Global Emergency.
WHO Experts to Decide This Week if Mpox Outbreak in Africa is a Global Health Emergency Amid Growing Concerns Over Deadly Strain
Independent experts appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) will convene virtually on Wednesday to determine whether the mpox outbreak in Africa should be classified as a global public health emergency. The committee will advise WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on whether to declare the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and provide recommendations for managing the disease’s spread.
Vaccine manufacturers can now apply for an emergency license from the WHO, which would enable international organizations like UNICEF and Gavi to procure and distribute vaccines. On August 9, the WHO confirmed that manufacturers can submit applications for this emergency license.
In June, Bavarian Nordic dispatched 15,000 vaccine doses to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where most of the cases have been reported. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has called for global solidarity, highlighting the urgent need for 10 million vaccine doses while only 200,000 are currently available. The Africa CDC is also considering declaring a continental emergency this week.
The virus has now spread to at least 13 African countries this year. Recently, four countries—Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda—reported mpox cases for the first time. There have been 517 deaths from 17,541 confirmed and suspected cases in 2024. Concerns have intensified due to the emergence of a new and more deadly strain of the virus spreading from the DRC to neighboring countries.