"In a bid to increase awareness and resources, the WHO has declared the mpox outbreak a global health emergency

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WHO Declares Mpox Outbreak a Global Health Emergency




The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), its highest level of alarm under international health law. This decision comes after a meeting of independent experts who advised WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the severity of the outbreak.


"The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously reported mpox and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying," Dr. Ghebreyesus said. "The emergency committee met and advised me that the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice.”


A PHEIC is a designation given by the WHO to "extraordinary events" that pose a public health risk to other countries through the international spread of disease. Such outbreaks often require a coordinated international response, according to the organization.


"It was unanimous that the current outbreak of mpox, upsurge of mpox, is an extraordinary event," said Dimie Ogoina, Chair of the emergency committee. "What we have in Africa is the tip of the iceberg. We are not recognizing, or we don't have the full picture of, this burden of mpox."


This declaration by the WHO follows a similar declaration by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which declared the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security on Tuesday, the first such declaration by the agency since its inception in 2017.


The declaration of a PHEIC signals the need for increased global coordination and resources to address the mpox outbreak and prevent further spread.


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