By Blessing Chinagorom
The Central and Eastern Africa have been given additional $35 million in emergency health assistance to bolster response efforts for the clade I mpox outbreak.
United States through its Agency for International Development (USAID) in a statement released on Tuesday disclosed this while stated further that the assistance will enable the Agency to continue working closely with affected countries.
Also, as well as regional and global health partners, to expand support and reduce the impact of this outbreak as it continues to evolve.
It revealed that this new commitment brings the total U.S. government support for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and other affected countries in the region to more than $55 million in response to this outbreak.
The support of the United States, through USAID, also includes the donation of 50,000 doses of Jynneos vaccines to the DRC, the country most severely impacted by the outbreak, and resources to support vaccine readiness and delivery.
While the United States remains committed to a comprehensive, whole-of-government response to this growing outbreak, called on other donors to join in these critical efforts.
Since 2023, the DRC has been experiencing an unprecedented outbreak of clade I mpox. This outbreak has extended beyond the DRC, with several other countries in the region reporting cases in 2024, including countries where mpox has historically not been reported.
In response to elevated concerns about further international spread and its potential impact on regional and global health security, World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
And also the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) issued its first-ever declaration of a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security.
Report has it that scientists are particularly concerned about the mpox virus’s spread into densely populated urban areas, a shift from its usual occurrence in rural regions.
The city of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), home to over one million people, has reported a significant surge in mpox cases.
In addition, four other countries in Central Africa have reported their first-ever cases of the disease, likely linked to an outbreak that began in late 2023 in South Kivu province, a conflict-ridden area of the DRC.
The viral strain responsible for this outbreak is believed to be more lethal than the one that caused the 2022 global mpox outbreak, which infected over 95,000 people, claimed more than 180 lives. Experts warned that the current situation could pose a far greater threat if not addressed promptly.