Africa CDC urges west to avoid "abandoning Africa" amidst deadly Mpox outbreak.

The director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has issued a stark warning to Western countries, urging them to support Africa’s fight against the ongoing mpox outbreak.

Dr. Jean Kaseya’s call comes as the continent faces a sharp rise in infections and deaths, with 107 new fatalities and over 3,000 cases reported in just the past week.

“In one week, we lost 107 [people]. It’s too much. It’s not acceptable,” Kaseya said, underlining the urgent need for international support. The alarming statistics were revealed just days after the Africa CDC, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), launched a continental response plan aimed at containing the outbreak.

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Declared a global emergency by the WHO in August, the outbreak is concentrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where a new clade 1b strain of mpox is spreading rapidly. With cases now confirmed in 14 African nations, Kaseya emphasized that the continent is facing a funding shortfall of $600 million, a critical gap that must be filled to combat the disease effectively.

Kaseya appealed directly to Western nations, stressing that their response to this crisis would serve as a test of whether lessons had been learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, where African countries felt abandoned. “We don’t want to come back again tomorrow to say, you again abandoned Africa,” he said during a briefing. Kaseya also pointed out that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, African nations were left behind as wealthier countries hoarded vaccines, eroding trust between the West and the continent.

“As we know, the trust was broken between Western countries and Africa. It’s really time for solidarity,” Kaseya added, calling for a renewed global effort to ensure that Africa receives the resources it needs.

While the outbreak in Africa has seen nearly 22,000 cases and 716 deaths since January, international support has started trickling in. The European Union has delivered 200,000 vaccine doses to the DRC, and the United States has provided 50,000 doses, with additional pledges from Europe and Japan. However, the timeline for these much-needed vaccines remains unclear, and Kaseya warned that further delays could worsen the situation.

Mpox, which is transmitted to humans from infected animals and through close human contact, continues to spread across borders, making it a global issue that requires immediate attention. Kaseya’s appeal serves as a reminder that while some African countries are stepping up to contribute to the fight, international cooperation will be essential to prevent further loss of life and restore trust between Africa and its global partners.