The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), marking the highest level of global health alert under international law. The announcement was made by WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, following a virtual meeting of the organisation’s emergency committee on Wednesday. The declaration came amid growing concerns over the spread of a deadlier strain of the mpox virus, known as clade Ib, which has recently been detected in four previously unaffected provinces in Africa.
This strain, known for its higher transmissibility and severe symptoms, was previously confined to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The PHEIC status is reserved for “extraordinary events” that pose a significant public health risk through the international spread of disease, potentially necessitating a coordinated global response. WHO’s decision underscores the severity of the mpox outbreak and the urgent need for international cooperation to contain it.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) had already declared the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security on Tuesday, the first such declaration in the agency’s history since its establishment in 2017. As of this year, more than 17,000 mpox cases and over 500 deaths have been reported across 13 African countries, according to Africa CDC data. The DRC has been the hardest hit, accounting.