In Brazzaville, the Congo, the 74th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa convened on Monday, August 26.
Nearly 1,000 delegates, including the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and health ministers from 47 member nations, will convene over the course of five days.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa confirmed that the global mpox epidemics are one of the most urgent problems.
“I believe the most important thing for people to understand is how determined we are to address mpox and to approach the situation differently than in the past. Thus, we are actively collaborating with the member states in the background and have helped numerous of them create plans.”
The goal of discussions on the health problems facing the continent is to offer remedies.
Topics such as “Transformation for Results: Strengthening African Health Systems through WHO Reforms,” “WHO Investment Cycle: Amplifying Africa’s Voice,” and “Addressing the Public Health Emergency of Preventable Child Mortality in the WHO African Region” are high on the agenda of the session.
Africa has long had high death rates from illnesses including cholera, meningitis, and malaria.
The African Leaders Malaria Alliance’s executive secretary exuded confidence:
“The African continent has been dealing with epidemics consistently for centuries, and over the years, we have developed increasing expertise in handling epidemics,” Joy Phumaphi stated.
“The fact that we have an mpox epidemic now should not cause people to panic, because it is on a continent that is used to dealing with this type of crisis.”
The WHO was compelled to declare a worldwide emergency due to the development of a new, more deadly strain of the mpox virus in central and eastern Africa, as well as high contamination levels in nations like the US.
Congo’s Democratic Republic is the epicentre of the global crisis. Officials from the country attended the Brazzaville meeting.
“Our country has a huge experience in dealing with many epidemic situations, and this is one of them. I think participating in this meeting will help us to be sensitized and also to have the support of partners.”
The WHO on Monday (Aug. 26) launched a global drive to tackle human-to-human transmission of mpox.
The Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan will run from September to February 2025 and require 135 million dollars in funding.
At the opening meeting, some key decision-makers from international health organizations promised to provide more funds to help end outbreaks like mumps in Africa.
(Africanews)
