Officials say a new fast-spreading variant has been detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), its highest level of alert, due to a new variant of the Monkey Pox viral disease in Africa.
The strain has so far been detected in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
Earlier this week, Africa’s top public health body declared an mpox emergency for the continent after warning that the viral infection was spreading at an alarming rate.
More than 17,000 suspected mpox cases and 517 deaths have been reported on the African continent so far this year, a 160 percent increase in cases compared with the same period last year, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ngashi Ngongo, the chief of staff of the regional health body, said an agreement had been reached with the EU’s health task force and mpox vaccine manufacturer Bavarian Nordic to provide an initial 215,000 doses of the inoculant to Africa.
He said that they were still negotiating a deal for the continent to receive two million doses by the end of the year, and ten million by the end of 2025.
“We are also planning to saturate the media, both television and the radio, to make sure that all those that have access to those media can also receive the message,” Ngongo said.
“But remember that 96 percent of cases are in the DRC, and 60 percent of those cases are among the young people below the age of 18,” he added, “so we’re also using social media to ensure that the young people are also reached.”
The organisation pledged to “play a crucial role in containing the spread of the disease, even in the hard-to-reach areas where the need is the greatest”.
