Mpox crisis: We need an equity-driven pandemic treaty
Internally displaced Congolese listen to a hygiene promoter during an awareness campaign for Mpox at the Muja IDP camp in Nyiragongo territory near Goma, DR Congo, on August 19, 2024. PHOTO | REUTERS
The Institute for Global Health and Development (IGHD), Guinea-Bissau
The current multicountry Mpox outbreak started in January 2022. It has now been declared a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (Phecs) by the Africa CDC and, for the second time, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (Pheic) by WHO, under the International Health Regulations (2005) highlighting critical deficiencies in the global public health response.
Endemic to West and Central Africa, the first human case of Mpox was detected in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Nigeria experienced a large outbreak in 2017 and 2018. Only sporadic cases occurred outside endemic areas before 2022.
