The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has announced an extension of its coordinated emergency response to the Mpox outbreak across the continent, citing persistent community-level transmission, stigma and funding shortfalls as critical barriers to containment.
Deputy incident manager for Mpox at the Africa CDC incident management support team, Prof. Yap Boum II made the announcement during the bi-weekly high-level regional press briefing. He said the Public Health Emergency of Regional Concern (PHEC) declaration will remain in effect for at least three more months.
“Mpox remains a serious public health challenge, with many countries still lacking adequate national response capacities,” Boum said. “We must continue coordinated action, especially across borders, where the risk of spread remains significant.”
Boum explained that despite efforts to strengthen surveillance, diagnostics, and vaccine rollout, communities are still facing substantial obstacles, including deep-rooted stigma and misinformation, which discourage people from seeking medical help.
“We’ve documented several tragic cases tied to stigma,” he noted. “In Kinshasa, a woman was forced out of her home after testing positive for Mpox. Her husband believed false claims that the disease was only contracted through sex work. These kinds of misconceptions are not just harmful – they are deadly.”
According to Africa CDC, vulnerable populations such as commercial sex workers, truck drivers, and men who have sex with men continue to face higher rates of infection yet are often excluded from public health messaging due to social bias and discrimination.
“We cannot stop Mpox if we ignore the realities of who is most at risk. Our approach must be inclusive, science-based and sensitive to the cultural dynamics of our communities,” Boum emphasised.
In collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), Africa CDC is strengthening its regional approach through enhanced surveillance, case management training, and deployment of personal protective equipment and vaccines to affected countries, including Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire.
Despite these interventions, Boum expressed concern over declining global contributions to Africa’s Vaccine Resilience Fund, warning that reductions in official development assistance (ODA) could jeopardise outbreak response and vaccine access.
“Some countries are scaling back their contributions. This is deeply troubling,” Boum said. “We are, however, encouraged by Germany’s pledge to maintain and potentially increase its funding, helping to bridge shortfalls left by other partners such as the United States.”
He also welcomed recent commitments made at the Gavi Vaccine Alliance pledging conference, where nearly $9 billion was raised to boost vaccine equity in developing regions, including Africa.
While Mpox remains a top priority, Boum addressed another pressing issue: the ongoing cholera outbreaks, particularly in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Although the situation is serious, the Emergency Coordination Group has not yet designated cholera as a regional health emergency.
Lead of the epidemic intelligence unit at Africa CDC, Dr. Kyeng Mercy provided further insight into the cholera situation in DRC. She noted that 77 per cent of all cholera cases reported in recent weeks were concentrated in hotspot provinces such as South Kivu, North Kivu, Katanga and Tanganyika.
“These are conflict zones with weak health infrastructure and limited access for responders,” Mercy explained. “Surveillance is hampered by insecurity and basic interventions like clean water supply remain out of reach.”
Mercy said that a contaminated well in South Kivu was recently identified as a key source of cholera transmission, but efforts to repair it have been delayed due to security risks and logistical challenges.
“We’re dealing with crisis conditions. Yet we are determined to respond, working through multi-disciplinary teams providing clinical support, water sanitation interventions and epidemiological oversight,” she said.
She emphasised that effective control of both Mpox and cholera requires integrated planning and sustained investment in surveillance, laboratory systems and health workforce training.
“Mpox and cholera are not isolated events. They are symptoms of deeper systemic issues – fragile health systems, poor infrastructure and under-resourced emergency responses,” she said.
To address these challenges, Africa CDC is working closely with UNICEF, WHO and non-governmental organisations to scale up oral cholera vaccination campaigns and improve data systems for real-time monitoring.
Mercy added that media and civil society have a key role to play in fighting misinformation and promoting early treatment-seeking behaviour.
“Our messages must be delivered in local dialects, through trusted messengers – radio presenters, health workers, faith leaders,” she said. “We’re supporting risk communication and community engagement efforts to ensure that accurate, culturally relevant information reaches those who need it most.”
Africa CDC officials reiterated that the regional Mpox response is guided by a One Health approach, which recognises the links between human, animal, and environmental health.
Boum said the integrated Mpox-cholera response model currently deployed in eastern DRC could become a prototype for other regions facing multiple health threats simultaneously.
“Sudan, Angola and other countries have shown us the importance of cross-border coordination. We must scale what works,” he said.
Looking ahead, Boum reaffirmed Africa CDC’s commitment to bolstering member states’ capacities to detect, prevent, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.
“We are working to ensure that no community is left behind,” he said. “Outbreak response must be inclusive, accountable and rooted in community trust.”
As Africa continues to navigate multiple public health threats, experts agree that building resilient health systems, improving data collection, and ensuring equitable access to vaccines and care will be key to containing Mpox and other emerging diseases.
In the words of Boum: “The virus moves fast. We must move faster.”
