By Thobile Jiwulane

African leaders have expressed alarm at the rising cases of monkeypox (Mpox) disease that has affected many parts of the African continent with more reports coming about its outbreak.

Now Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of states and governments currently gather for their summit in Harare Zimbabwe, were trying to find a solution to the problem as the disease threatened to engulf the entire continent. It was one of the agenda topics under discussion at the SADC’s summit.

Due to its poor status and lack of resources among the African nations, for every disease that broke out globally, Africa was always the worst affected with the largest number of people dying. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defined Mpox as an illness caused by the monkeypox virus. It is a viral infection which can spread between people and occasionally from the environment to people via things and surfaces that have been touched by a person with mpox. According to WHO, in settings where the monkeypox virus is present among some wild animals, it can also be transmitted from infected animals to people who have contact with them.

In Africa there was a general alarm as the number of Mpox cases reported in 2024 surged by 160% compared to the same period in 2023. This had forced the continent to divert USD 10.4 million from its COVID-19 Fund to allocate to the Mpox outbreak response. But joint coordinated efforts of Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), WHO and UNICEF under the Joint Emergency Preparedness and Response Action Plan (JEAP) had raised new hope that the problem could be nipped in the bud.

According the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is serving as African Union Champion on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Rescue pertaining to the Mpox outbreak in Africa, a total of 17 541 cases and 517 deaths due to Mpox had been reported across Africa since the beginning of this year.  He told the SADC summit that of the total cases reported, 2 822 were confirmed and 14,719 were suspected cases while three additional countries notified cases were under investigation for confirmation bringing the total countries affected to 16 countries.

Ramaphosa, as a champion, was frequently briefed about the state of affairs pertaining to the outbreak of the disease in different areas of the continent. “I am deeply concerned by the rapid spread of Mpox across multiple regions within the African Union, with a significant rise in both cases and fatalities, reflecting a concerning shift in the epidemiological pattern,” he said.

The situation had forced the Africa CDC to declared Mpox as a Public Health Emergency of the Continent Security, following in the footsteps of WHO which declared Mpox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

Ramaphosa was optimistic that the Africa CDC declaration would improve co-ordination and collective responds efforts at every level and would be able to galvanise African leaders and rapidly mobilise essential financial and technical resources to focus on combating the disease. The South African leader cautioned about a possible repeat of the African experience during the COVID 19 outbreak when the West monopolised the vaccines and therapeutics making them only availing to the developed nations. President Ramaphosa, as chair of the African Union at the time, criticised the West for hogging the vaccines they developed and not extending them to Africa, which was in desperate need of them. This prompted Africa to start programs to develop its own vaccines to prepare for future outbreaks and South Africa was among a few countries that subsequently found their own vaccines for COVID 19.

“I call upon WHO and all partners to collaborate closely with Africa CDC to ensure that this PHEIC unlocks appropriate support from the international community, guaranteeing equitable access to medical countermeasures, including diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines,” Ramaphosa said. He pleaded with the African Union member States to increase domestic resource allocation to meet the demand.

African states should lead their national Mpox outbreak responses through a One Health approach, and enhance their capacities, particularly in areas such as capacity building, risk communication, community engagement, case detection, contact tracing, and cross-border surveillance. A special appeal was made to the international community to intervene on the understanding that Africa required robust support in funding, research, and the sharing of technologies.

The envisaged external financial backing would go a long way towards attacking the problem. The world financial contributions were earmarked to be directed to the Africa Epidemic Fund under the auspices of the Africa CDC.

At the SADC Summit in Harare, the leaders were expected to assess and review progress made in the region’s flagship integration agenda, the Regional Strategic Indicative Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030, as well as address matters relating to peace and security in the region. During the Summit, Zimbabwe assumed the chair of SADC, taking over from Angola, who chaired SADC since the previous Summit held in Luanda Angola, in August 2023.