Africa CDC special briefing on mpox and the impact of conflict

On 30 January 2025, Africa CDC held an updated briefing on mpox as a major priority, now broadcast on YouTube. [1]

This reported that 9,959 cases of mpox have been reported in Africa during January 2025, with 2099 confirmed and 85 deaths. 12 countries are still in the active phase of the epidemic and 9 countries are in the control phase.

The 914 confirmed cases in the third week of January were reported from DRC (515), Uganda (258), Burundi (120), Nigeria (6), Sierra Leone (8), Liberia (1), Kenya (2) and Zambia (3).

The presentation also addressed the unacceptable armed conflict in Eastern DRC regions of North and South Kiva and the related humanitarian crisis in the city of Goma in DRC where one-third of the three million people are displaced.It included to plea to African leaders to stop this conflict.

These are the same regions affected by mpox and overcrowding and poor sanitation are linked to outbreaks of cholera and measles, complicated by people fleeing for safety.

Specific challenges to contain mpox include continued low testing rates, migration, and a revised vaccine strategy planned to reach 3.5 million people, including in Burundi.

Questions in the discussion included the impact of the US freeze on international aid and the hope that the waiver might enable existing projects to continue.