Addis Ababa/Brazzaville/Geneva, 17 April 2025 | Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and WHO have updated their joint Continental Response Plan for the mpox emergency as the disease continues to affect new areas. The revised strategy focuses on controlling outbreaks, while expanding vaccination coverage and transitioning toward a longer-term, sustainable response.
Mpox is a viral illness that spreads between people, mainly through close contact. It causes painful skin and mucosal lesions, often accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. The disease can be debilitating and disfiguring.
Historically a zoonotic disease transmitted from infected animals, mpox has increasingly shown a tendency to 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 and within households and through close contact. In response to the growing public health threat, the Director General of Africa CDC declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security in August 2024. This was followed by the World Health Organization’s declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated action across countries and regions.
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. Outside Africa, 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. The Africa CDC and WHO Joint Continental Mpox Plan has guided these efforts, focusing on ten key pillars: 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 6 countries, 90% of which have been administered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Overall, over a million doses have been delivered to 10 countries, with efforts ongoing to secure additional vaccine supplies.
Diagnostic testing capacity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has grown significantly, driven by the expansion of laboratory infrastructure – from 2 laboratories in late 2023 to 23 laboratories in 12 provinces today. With new, near-point-of-care tests currently being rolled out in the country, capacity is expected to increase even further.
Despite this progress, major challenges remain. Ongoing conflict and insecurity in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the incidence of mpox remains high, as well as humanitarian aid cuts, continue to limit the public health response and restrict access to essential services. Across countries and partners, over US$ 220 million is needed to fill funding gaps for the mpox response.
The updated Continental Response Plan calls for intensified efforts to bring outbreaks under control, while also taking concrete actions to integrate mpox into routine health services.
Along with the Continental Response Plan for Africa, WHO has updated the global strategic plan to curb – and where feasible, to stop – human-to-human transmission of mpox. In the first two months of 2025, 60 countries reported mpox, with the majority of cases and deaths reported from the African continent. The joint Continental Response Plan is aligned with the global strategy.
Africa CDC and WHO continue to work closely with national governments, local communities, and partners to curb transmission, control the outbreak, and build longer-term resilience within public health systems.
LINKS:
Mpox Continental Response Plan 2.0
https://africacdc.org/download/mpox-continental-response-plan-2-0/
Mpox global strategic preparedness and response plan – April 2025 https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/mpox-global-strategic-preparedness-and-response-plan-april-2025
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AboutAfrica Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is a public health agency of the African Union. It is autonomous and supports member states in strengthening health systems. It also helps improve disease surveillance, emergency response, and disease control. Learn more at: http://www.africacdc.org and connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube
For more information and media inquiries:
Margaret Edwin | Director of Communication and Public Information | Africa CDC EdwinM@africacdc.org
