The World Health Organization has launched a global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan in an attempt to quell outbreaks of the mpox virus in humans.
The WHO announced this week that the six-month, $135 million strategy will run from September through February 2025, and will focus on surveillance, prevention, readiness, and response strategies.
The WHO is also aiming to improve vaccine access, particularly in African nations where mpox outbreaks have been more common.
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“The mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries can be controlled, and can be stopped,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “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. This SPRP provides that plan, based on the principles of equity, global solidarity, community empowerment, human rights, and coordination across sectors.”
The new strategy comes after the WHO declared mpox a global health emergency as a new form of the virus spread in Congo and elsewhere in Africa.
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In most cases, mpox is painful but not life-threatening. However, few vaccine doses are currently available in the most hard-hit countries.
The African CDC reported this month that more than 17,000 cases of mpox and 517 deaths have been reported in 13 African countries this year.
Typical symptoms of mpox include a rash, fever, malaise, headache, and muscle aches.
