WHO Declares Monkeypox Public Health Emergency of International Concern

On Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged the surge in mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and another African countries.

He also declared Monkeypox public health emergency of international concern and this decision came on the advice of an IHR Emergency Committee.

The Committee informed the Director-General that it considers the surge in mpox cases to be a PHEIC, with potential to spread further across countries in Africa and possibly outside the continent.

Tedros said, "The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighbouring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”

WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti said, “Significant efforts are already underway in close collaboration with communities and governments, with our country teams working on the frontlines to help reinforce measures to curb mpox. With the growing spread of the virus, we’re scaling up further through coordinated international action to support countries bring the outbreaks to an end.”