Sustaining efforts to end mpox outbreaks in Africa

One year since World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), African countries have scaled up response measures and made progress to curb the spread of the virus.

Coordinated action between governments, WHO, Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), communities and partners has helped strengthen disease surveillance, expand laboratory testing, roll out vaccination and improve treatment and care of people with mpox.

Mpox remains a serious public health challenge in Africa. In the past year, 28 African countries have been affected, with more than 174 000 suspected and nearly 50 000 confirmed cases reported. Around 240 lives have been lost.

However, response efforts are paying off. In the last six weeks, the weekly number of confirmed cases declined by 34.5% compared with the preceding six weeks. Over 3 million doses, almost half of the target have been delivered, more than 951 000 doses administered and around 900 000 people vaccinated with at least one dose.

Thanks to sustained efforts, Cote d’Ivoire, for instance, has brought its outbreak under control after 42 days with no new cases. Angola, Gabon, Mauritius, and Zimbabwe have also gone more than 90 days without any new confirmed cases.

“Our collective efforts have been crucial in strengthening measures for an effective response,” said Dr Otim, Patrick Ramadan Programme Area Manager, Emergency Response at WHO Regional Office for Africa. “It is critical to sustain what works, which includes rapid case detection, timely targeted vaccination, strong laboratory systems, and active community engagement.”

Collaboratively, WHO and Africa CDC have developed continental Mpox Preparedness and Response Plans and co-led the implementation through continental Incident Management Support Team in collaboration with partners.

“The partnership between Africa CDC and WHO highlights strong African leadership. With limited resources, there is a critical need to be more efficient which means working as one team, with one plan budget and monitoring framework,” said Professor Yap Boum, Deputy Continental Incident Manager for Africa CDC

Since August 2024, WHO has worked closely with countries to boost response capacity. Thirteen of the 22 countries with active transmission now have vaccine deployment plans, and eight are vaccinating high-risk groups and contacts.

However, challenges persist. These include limited access to vaccines, competing emergencies, funding gaps, inadequate access to care, and stigma that keeps people from seeking care. Conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to disrupt response efforts.

“Our priorities for the next six months are to expand community-based surveillance in high-risk areas, continue to procure and distribute essential supplies to hotspots, support the integration of mpox response into other health programs for sustainability, support targeted vaccination and advocate for more funding for vaccine deployment,” said Dr Otim.