As of now, the outbreak remains uncontrolled, prompting the African Union's health agency to call for additional resources to prevent a more serious pandemic than Covid-19.
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), approximately 48,000 cases of mpox have been reported in Africa since January, with the majority of deaths occurring in the DRC, which is the outbreak's epicenter and initiated a vaccination campaign last month.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus informed reporters that the vaccination efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have been supported by donations from the United States and the European Commission.
He also mentioned that nearly 900,000 vaccine doses have been allocated this week to nine countries through a mechanism established by the WHO and its partners, with those countries set to be notified on Friday.
The initial distribution of nearly six million vaccine doses is anticipated to be ready by the conclusion of 2024, according to the WHO director, as part of the Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM).
Mpox, formerly referred to as monkeypox, is a viral infection that can be transmitted to humans from infected animals and can also spread between individuals through direct physical contact.
This viral disease, which is related to smallpox, manifests with symptoms such as fever, body aches, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash that develops into blisters.