A 3-week-old girl suffering from mpox in the emergency room at Kavumu Hospital in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on 30 August 30, 2024. The girl's mother said she had been at the hospital for almost two weeks with little improvement in her daughter's condition due to a lack of the necessary medication. Staff say that the health facility is overwhelmed with mpox patients and lacks adequate medicines and protective equipment for health workers. Photo Credit: WHO
Geneva: The ongoing rise in mpox cases still aligns with the definition of a public health emergency of international concern as outlined in the International Health Regulations (IHR). As a result, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), declared today that mpox continues to be recognized as a public health emergency of international significance.
The announcement comes after the third gathering of the IHR Emergency Committee on the rising cases of mpox, which took place on February 25, 2025. The Committee recommended that the Director-General prolong the public health emergency of international concern due to the ongoing increase in cases and the disease’s expanding reach, compounded by the violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo that hinders response efforts, as well as insufficient funding for the implementation of the response plan.
The Director-General agreed with the Committee’s recommendation. Additionally, the Director-General endorsed the Committee’s updated temporary recommendations for Member States facing mpox outbreaks. These provisional guidelines are directed at States Parties that are currently facing the spread of the monkeypox virus (MPXV). This includes regions experiencing ongoing community transmission, as well as those reporting clusters of cases or isolated instances linked to travel involving MPXV clade Ib.
The intention is for these guidelines to complement the existing recommendations for mpox, which will remain in effect until August 20, 2025. In alignment with the global initiative to curb the transmission of mpox, as detailed in the WHO Strategic Framework for enhancing prevention and control of mpox from 2024 to 2027, the established recommendations apply to all States Parties. These revised temporary recommendations are designed to assist countries in preventing and managing the disease’s spread, WHO stated.
A comprehensive report from the meeting will be released next week.
The mpox situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its spread to adjacent countries was initially recognized as a public health emergency of international concern by the Director-General on August 14, 2024.
– global bihari bureau
