WHO Regional Committee for Africa Convenes as New Mpox Response Plan is Unveiled

On Monday (Aug. 26), The Congo’s Brazzaville hosted the commencement of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa’s 74th session.

Over a span of five days, almost 1,000 attendees will convene for discussion at the meeting. Among those in attendance are Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (the Director-General of the World Health Organization) and health ministers from forty-seven member countries.

The Director for Africa of WHO has confirmed that the global Mpox epidemics is one of the urgent issues.

Our primary focus lies in exhibiting our resolute will to tackle mpox and approach it innovatively, different from any prior attempts. To achieve this feat, we are collaborating extensively with member countries behind the scenes while also aiding them in creating action plans.

The focus of discussions surrounding the health issues plaguing the continent will be on generating solutions.

The session is prioritizing discussions on subjects like “Strengthening African Health Systems through WHO Reforms for Effective Transformation,” “Elevating Africa’s Influence with the WHO Investment Cycle,” and “Tackling Preventable Child Mortality in the Public Health Emergency of the African Region, as its primary topics.

The proficiency of Africa in managing epidemics.

Diseases like malaria, meningitis and cholera have caused Africa to experience elevated mortality rates for many years.

Confidence was evident in the executive secretary of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance.

READ ALSO: WHO Launches 6-Month Plan to Curb Mpox Transmission

Joy Phumaphi stated that for centuries, the African continent has continuously grappled with epidemics and as time went by, its proficiency in managing such outbreaks grew.

People should not panic about the current MPOX epidemic in a continent that is accustomed to managing such crises.

Due to the high incidence of infection in both central and eastern African nations, as well as alarming levels of contamination observed within multiple countries such as the US, a new and more lethal variation of mpox virus was able to rapidly propagate. Consequently, after much consideration by WHO officials regarding its potential reach across worldwide populations, an official declaration has been made that this outbreak is now deemed a global emergency situation.

Attendants of the Brazzaville meeting included officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is regarded as ground zero for the current worldwide crisis.

One of the many situations in which our country has had extensive experience dealing with is epidemics. Attending this meeting will not only increase awareness but also provide us support from our partners.

On Monday, August 26th, the WHO initiated a worldwide effort to combat person-to-person transmission of mpox.

The funding requirement for the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan is 135 million dollars, with implementation scheduled from September through February of 2025.

During the inaugural gathering, a few significant individuals in global health establishments pledged to allocate additional monetary resources towards terminating epidemics such as mpox across Africa.