The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), says governments and donors have pledged one billion dollars to tackle Africa’s ongoing Mpox outbreak, with the United States pledging five million dollars.
Dr Jean Kaseya, Director-General, Africa CDC, who said this during a media briefing on Friday, highlighted the critical need for improved monitoring and knowledge about the virus’s transmission.
Kaseya said that the continent’s response faces significant hurdles due to poor surveillance, insufficient testing, and limited contact tracing.
He said that less than four per cent of contacts were being traced, complicating efforts to curb the spread.
“Africa CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) are coordinating the continental response, with plans to meet U.S Health Secretary, Xavier Becerra, to discuss how the pledged U.S. funds will be allocated.
“According to the White House, the funds will support essential areas such as training frontline health workers, and strengthening disease surveillance.
“It will also help in improviding laboratory diagnostic supplies, clinical case management, risk communication, and research,” he said.
He said that alongside the financial pledges, vaccine donations have reached 4.3 million doses, with Japan committing three million doses to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the epicenter of the outbreak.
He said that the U.S also pledged one million doses this week, adding that despite these donations, vaccine distribution remains slow, with only a fraction arriving on the continent.
He added that the DRC planned to roll out vaccinations soon, but logistical challenges, including poor infrastructure and ongoing armed conflict, were anticipated to hinder the effort.
He called for an increase in community health workers to bolster surveillance, with plans to deploy 40,000 community networkers in the DRC.
Dr Ngashi Ngongo, Africa CDC’s Chief of Staff, said that priority groups for vaccination included healthcare workers, close contacts of confirmed cases, and key populations.
Ngongo listed such closed populations to include commercial sex workers, men who have sex with men, children, and those with weakened immune systems, including individuals living with HIV.
He said that many cases were not being linked to others due to weak contact tracing, with health workers only managing to trace around three per cent of contacts.
He said that community health workers had not been fully integrated into the response, further weakening the ability to track the virus’s spread.
According to report, 15 African countries have reported Mpox cases this year, with an additional 15 countries considered vulnerable.
(NAN/vitalnewsngr.com)
