World Health Organization Will Determine This Week If Outbreak Is Considered ‘Global Public Health Emergency’

ALERT: World Health Organization Will Determine This Week If Outbreak Is Considered ‘Global Public Health Emergency’

Danielle

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) emergency committee will meet on Wednesday to determine whether a mpox (monkeypox) outbreak in Africa is considered a ‘global public health emergency.’

The committee, which consists of ‘independent experts’ appointed by the WHO, will meet virtually and advise WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus whether mpox is a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ (PHEIC).

“In light of the spread of #mpox outside #DRC, and the potential for further international spread within and outside Africa, I have decided to convene an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations to advise me on whether the outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern,” Ghebreyesus said last week.

“The committee will meet as soon as possible and will be made up of independent experts from a range of relevant disciplines from around the world,” he added.

From POLITICO:

Vaccine manufacturers can now apply to WHO for an emergency licence that would allow international groups including UNICEF and Gavi the Vaccine Alliance to procure and distribute their shots, the U.N. body confirmed on August 9.

In June, Bavarian Nordic sent 15,000 doses of its vaccine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the majority of cases have been detected.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has called for “global solidarity”, pointing out that the region needs 10 million vaccine doses but currently has access to just 200,000. The agency confirmed it will also consider whether to declare a continental emergency this week.

Pay attention to the WHO on Wednesday. Independent experts appointed by the World Health Organization will meet virtually on Wednesday to help decide whether the mpox outbreak in Africa is a global public health emergency.

“I am convening the Emergency Committee regarding the upsurge of #mpox on Wednesday 14 August 2024,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“The Committee will provide me with its views on whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern — and if so, it will advise me on the temporary recommendations on how to better prevent and reduce the spread of the disease and manage the global public health response,” he added.