The WHO’s six-month plan to combat mpox

The UN health agency on Monday launched a six-month plan to help stop outbreaks of MPox transmission, including increasing staffing levels in affected countries and boosting surveillance, prevention and response strategies.

The World Health Organization said it expects the plan to require $135 million in funding from September to February next year and aims to improve equitable access to vaccines, particularly in African countries hardest hit by the outbreak.

“MPOX outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries can be controlled and stopped,” WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

The agency is “significantly increasing staff” in affected countries, it said. In mid-August, the WHO classified the current MPox outbreak as a global public health emergency.

On Monday, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Germany is donating 100,000 doses of MPOX vaccine to affected countries from army stockpiles, German news agency dpa reported.

Last Tuesday, Congo – the worst affected country – reported this more than 1,000 new ones mpox cases over the past week.

In its latest update on the outbreak, the African Centers for Disease Control reported that more than 21,300 suspected or confirmed cases and 590 deaths have been reported in 12 African countries this year.

Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox, but typically causes milder symptoms such as fever, chills and body aches. It usually spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, including sexual intercourse. People with more severe cases may develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.