Mpox: Head of Africa CDC urges partners to honour pledges as death toll tops 1,000

The number of mpox-related deaths has topped 1,000 in outbreaks currently affecting 18 of Africa's 55 nations.

The head of the continent’s top public health agency unveiled the latest figures on Thursday (Oct. 17).

The demise, this week, of 50 infected people brought the total of victims to 1,100.

The head of AfricaCDC Jean Kaseya urged international partners to honour their pledges to support Africa’s response.

The estimated budget for a six-month plan put forward by the Africa centres for disease control and prevention known as Africa CDD and the World Health Organization is worth almost $600 million.

55% of the sum is allocated to the response to mpox in 14 affected nations and boosting readiness in 15 others.

Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms, including fever and body aches.

People with more serious cases can develop lesions on the face, hands and genitals.

Zambia and Zimbabwe became the latest African countries to confirm mpox cases in the past week.

Easter DRC remains the epicentre of the global health emergency.

The Mpox virus was discovered in Denmark in 1958.

For years, it had been sporadically spreading in central and west Africa until the 2022 global outbreak.

At the time, wealthy countries quickly responded with vaccines from their stockpiles.