WHO backs African efforts to combat Mpox spread as Sweden records new case
By Winfred Watenya
The World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting African countries to scale up response to curb Mpox, which is now an international global health emergency.
The outbreak that affected the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and spread to neighboring countries continues to grow.
On Thursday afternoon, WHO member Sweden became the first country outside Africa to record a case of the Mpox Clade 1 variant that is believed to be driving the latest outbreak.
“We are hard at work on the frontlines of the response, collaborating closely with governments and communities to strengthen Mpox control measures and are ramping up efforts to curb the widening trend of the virus through coordinated action with partners and national authorities,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
So far this year, more than 2,100 laboratory-confirmed cases of the disease, and 13 deaths, have been reported in the DRC and 11 other countries: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
