Geneva: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the Mpox upsurge continues to meet the criteria for a public health emergency of international concern under the International Health Regulations (IHR).
According to Kuwait News Agency, this announcement follows the third meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee on the Mpox upsurge held on Tuesday. The Committee advised the Director-General to extend the public health emergency of international concern due to the continued increase in numbers and geographic spread.
WHO stated that the upsurge of Mpox is linked to the increase in violence in eastern DRC, which is hindering the response efforts, as well as a lack of funding to implement the response plan.
WHO added that the recommendations guide countries experiencing outbreaks of Mpox in their efforts to prevent and control the spread of the disease. It emphasized that the emergence of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its spread to neighboring countries was first declared a public health emergency of international concern by the Director-General on 14 August.