Monrovia — The African Centers for Disease Control (Africa CDC) is accelerating efforts to mobilize resources in its fight against mpox, one year after declaring the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security.
Speaking at the continental health agency’s regular press briefing on Friday, August 23, the Incident Manager for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yap Boum, announced that the head of the Africa CDC forged strategic partnerships at the recent Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD).
Boum said that at a time when global development financing is low, the engagements are critically important. Among the commitments received, he said, was an expression of support from Japan, particularly for the local manufacturing of essential health tools and digital health innovations needed for the agency’s response.
“The continent must have ownership of research and development,” Boum said, noting that delays during previous outbreaks, including Ebola, cost lives.
The Africa CDC official also said a delegation from the agency was in the DR Congo last week to support the country’s response efforts, not only against mpox, but also other outbreaks such as cholera and measles. He said the visit provided an opportunity to hold strategic meetings with local and national leaders and to assess the ongoing response.
Boum identified mpox, cholera, dengue fever, and measles as the top four outbreaks afflicting the region, with mpox and cholera being the top two, having resulted in thousands of deaths combined.
Continental-wide, there was a drop in the number of suspected and confirmed mpox cases in reporting week 31, with new confirmed cases falling to 479 from over 600 the previous week. However, deaths from both confirmed and suspected cases increased.
New suspected and confirmed cases in the DR Congo, one of the continent’s hotspots, also fell by 17 and 9% from the previous week. The vast majority of cases in the central African nation are reported among men.
Sierra Leone continues to make progress in its ‘Operation Zero Case’ push, the health official said, citing drastic declines in new suspected and confirmed cases. Boum noted, however, that the number of deaths there has risen.
In Uganda, suspected and confirmed new cases each dropped by 14%. Liberia reported significant drops of 75% in both categories. Despite this progress, Liberia reported its highest number of cases in the last six weeks, with Montserrado County, home to the capital, accounting for the majority.
