WHO Launches Global Plan to Curb Mpox Outbreaks
Within the Africa Region, the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), in collaboration with Africa CDC, will spearhead the coordination of mpox response efforts.
GENEVA — The World Health Organization (WHO) launched a global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) on Monday to halt outbreaks of human-to-human transmission of mpox, writes Winston Mwale.
The plan follows the WHO Director-General's declaration of a public health emergency of international concern on August 14.
The SPRP, which is subject to input from Member States, covers the six-month period from September 2024 to February 2025. It outlines a US$135 million funding need for the response, with contributions expected from WHO, Member States, partners like the Africa CDC, communities, and researchers.
A funding appeal will be launched shortly.
The plan focuses on six key areas:
Comprehensive surveillance, prevention, readiness and response strategies: Implementing robust surveillance systems and coordinating rapid responses to outbreaks.
Advancing research and equitable access to medical countermeasures: Promoting research into mpox and ensuring equitable access to diagnostic tests, vaccines, and treatments.
Minimizing animal-to-human transmission: Raising awareness about potential zoonotic risks and implementing measures to reduce animal-to-human transmission.
Empowering communities: Engaging communities actively in outbreak prevention and control efforts.
Strategic vaccination efforts: Prioritizing individuals at the highest risk, such as close contacts of recent cases and healthcare workers, to interrupt transmission chains.
Global coordination: Enhancing strategic leadership, providing timely evidence-based guidance, and ensuring access to medical countermeasures for at-risk groups.
"The mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries can be controlled, and can be stopped," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
"Doing so requires a comprehensive and coordinated plan of action between international agencies and national and local partners, civil society, researchers and manufacturers, and our Member States. This SPRP provides that plan, based on the principles of equity, global solidarity, community empowerment, human rights, and coordination across sectors."
WHO is working closely with a range of international, regional, national, and local partners, including the ACT-Accelerator Principals group, the Standing Committee on Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response, the R&D Blueprint for Epidemics, and the interim Medical Counter Measures Network (i-MCM Net).
The WHO R&D Blueprint, along with Africa CDC, CEPI, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will host a virtual scientific conference on August 29-30 to align mpox research with outbreak control goals.
Within the Africa Region, the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), in collaboration with Africa CDC, will spearhead the coordination of mpox response efforts.
They have agreed on a one-plan, one-budget approach as part of the Africa Continental Mpox Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, currently under development.
At the national and sub-national levels, health authorities will adapt strategies to address current epidemiological trends.