The United Nations’ health agency has launched a six-month plan to address the ongoing outbreaks of Mpox transmission, focusing on increasing personnel in affected regions and enhancing surveillance, prevention, and response strategies. The World Health Organization (WHO) has projected that the plan will require $135 million in funding and aims to ensure equitable access to vaccines, particularly in the African countries most impacted by the outbreak.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed confidence that the Mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries can be controlled and halted. The agency is intensifying its workforce in affected nations, with WHO having recently declared the current Mpox outbreak as a global health emergency.

Additionally, the German government announced a donation of 100,000 doses of Mpox vaccine to affected countries from its military reserves, according to German news agency dpa. Congo, the country most severely affected by the outbreak, reported over 1,000 new Mpox cases in the previous week. The African Centers for Disease Control’s latest update revealed that as of Thursday, there have been over 21,300 suspected or confirmed cases and 590 deaths in 12 African countries this year.

Mpox, a virus related to smallpox, typically presents with milder symptoms such as fever, chills, and body aches. It primarily spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, including sexual activity. More severe cases can result in lesions appearing on the face, hands, chest, and genital regions.