Contact Us

Africa CDC vows to eradicate mpox from Africa by end of 2025

Anadolu Agency AFRICA
Published January 16,2025
Subscribe

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Thursday vowed to eradicate mpox from Africa by the end of 2025, emphasizing the importance of manufacturing local vaccines and integrating case management with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Burundi, and Uganda.

"Africa must eliminate mpox by the end of 2025. To do so, we must manufacture (vaccines) locally, and we will soon be talking to the heads of states and governments on the continent in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) about the need for us to manufacture locally," Jean Kaseya, Africa CDC director general, told a virtual weekly press briefing on the mpox outbreak and other health emergencies in Africa.

Kaseya said from January of last year to 2025, the continent had recorded 116,767 confirmed mpox cases, with 1,321 deaths.

"Africa CDC priorities in the next three months include the deployment of 80 epidemiologists and 2,400 community health workers in DR Congo, Burundi, and Uganda to support integrated case management, including medical, nutritional, and psychological care for mpox and measles, among other outbreaks," he added.

He said decentralization of testing and lab infrastructure enhancements will be supported, as well as accelerated vaccination for children under the age of 18.

Meanwhile, Kaseya said the Africa CDC acknowledged official communication from Tanzania issued on Wednesday that no Marburg cases had been confirmed through laboratory testing.

"We will continue supporting Tanzania in addressing any threats to public health," he added.