Africa requires over $220 million to sustain and scale up its response to the ongoing mpox outbreak, as the virus continues to spread both within the continent and internationally. This was revealed in a joint statement issued on Thursday by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) after updating their Continental Response Plan.
The revised plan sets out urgent priorities to manage the outbreak, enhance vaccination coverage, and transition towards a longer-term, sustainable response.
“Across countries and partners, over US$220 million is needed to fill funding gaps for the mpox response,” the statement reads.
The two agencies stressed that the updated plan calls for intensified efforts to control the outbreak, with an emphasis on integrating mpox prevention into routine health services.
“Along with the Continental Response Plan for Africa, WHO has updated the global strategic plan to curb and, where feasible, stop human-to-human transmission of mpox.
“In the first two months of 2025, 60 countries reported mpox cases, with the majority of cases and deaths coming from the African continent. The joint Continental Response Plan is aligned with the global strategy,” it added.
Africa CDC and WHO continue to collaborate with national governments, local communities, and other partners to reduce transmission, control the outbreak, and build long-term resilience within public health systems.
Mpox is a viral disease transmitted mainly through close contact, causing painful skin and mucosal lesions along with fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. It can be debilitating and disfiguring.
The agencies explained that mpox, which was historically a zoonotic disease passed from infected animals to humans, has increasingly spread between people.
“In 2022, a variant of the virus, clade IIb, began spreading globally through sexual contact. Since late 2023, yet another viral strain, clade Ib, began spreading through sexual networks, within households, and through close contact.
“This prompted the Africa CDC to declare a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security and the WHO Director-General to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in August 2024.
“By August 2024, the virus had begun spreading from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to four neighbouring countries. Since then, 28 countries around the world have reported cases of mpox due to clade Ib,” they stated.
Mpox Transmission in Africa
The agencies noted that outside of Africa, mpox cases remain largely travel-related.
“However, within Africa, in addition to transmission in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, local transmission has now been documented in additional countries including the Republic of the Congo, South Africa, South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia.
“Since the declaration of the emergency, both regional and global support has increased, particularly for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicentre of the outbreak,” it stated.
Key Pillars of the Response Plan
The Africa CDC and WHO Joint Continental Mpox Plan has guided efforts to combat the outbreak, focusing on ten key areas: coordination, risk communication and community engagement, disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, clinical management, infection prevention and control, vaccination, research, logistics, and maintaining essential health services.
“Vaccination efforts are underway, with more than 650,000 doses administered in six countries, 90% of which have been administered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Overall, over a million doses have been delivered to ten countries, with efforts ongoing to secure additional vaccine supplies,” the statement added.
Expansion of Diagnostic Testing Capacity
The agencies also highlighted a significant expansion in diagnostic testing capacity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The number of laboratories has increased from just two in late 2023 to 23 laboratories across 12 provinces as of now.
“With new, near-point-of-care tests currently being rolled out in the country, capacity is expected to increase even further.”
However, despite these advancements, major challenges remain, including ongoing conflict and insecurity in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where mpox incidence remains high. Humanitarian aid cuts continue to limit the public health response and restrict access to essential services.