As an mpox outbreak continues to rage in Africa, the World Health Organization on Monday launched a six-month plan to quell its spread. "The mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries can be controlled, and can be stopped," WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a news release announcing the plan.
"Doing so requires a comprehensive and coordinated plan of action between international agencies and national and local partners, civil society, researchers and manufacturers, and our Member States," he added. What is included in the new battle blueprint? Increasing staffing in affected countries and boosting surveillance, prevention and response efforts are the keystones of the new plan. It will not be accomplished for free, however: WHO said it expects $135 million in funding will be needed as the agency works to improve access to vaccines, notably in the African countries hardest hit by the outbreak .
The WHO's latest move follows its declaration earlier this month that classified the current mpox outbreak as a global health emergency. Luckily, relief is on the way: The first mpox vaccine doses from the United States are set to arrive soon in the Congo, and Germany and Japan have also offered up doses, the Associated Press reported. So far, the Congo has reported the vast majority of mpox cases and needs 3 million vaccine doses just to make a dent in the spread of the virus.
Last week, that country reported more than 1,00.