UN agency seeks $18.5M in aid to treat mpox in east, southern Africa

By Hassan Isilow

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Wednesday launched an appeal for $18.5 million to be used in providing crucial health care services to migrants, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and host communities in East Africa, Southern and the horn of Africa at risk of mpox.  

The UN agency in a statement said it is concerned about migrants, IDPs, and highly mobile populations in the region who tend to be at far greater risk of infection due to their living conditions, and mobile and transitory lifestyles that greatly limit their access to health and medical care.

The IOM said its appeal, preparedness and response plan is designed to reduce the risk of exposure to the disease for these vulnerable groups. 

“The required $18.5 million will be used to enhance the capacity to respond to the needs of migrants, IDPs, and host communities, by supporting infection, prevention, and control measures, particularly at borders,’’ the statement said.

The UN migration agency said the funding would further build the capacity of national health care workers and front line responders, and enable the identification of high-risk areas to ensure effective monitoring of the disease and reduce its spread across borders. 

Last week, the WHO and Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared mpox a public health emergency of international and continental concern.

According to the latest Africa CDC figures, as many as 17, 541 mpox cases and 517 deaths have so far been reported from 13 African countries.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicenter of the current outbreak, accounts for 96% of all cases and 97% of all deaths reported in 2024.

Congo has recorded 16,700 confirmed or suspected cases of mpox, including more than 570 deaths.

South Africa recorded 24 confirmed cases including three deaths, and Cameroon five confirmed cases, including two deaths. Burundi has over 100 cases while Nigeria has 39, Liberia five, Rwanda four, Ivory Coast and Uganda two each, and Kenya one confirmed case.