MPOX: Nigeria and Others Will Gain From WHO’s $135 Million Fund

Nigeria and a number of other nations recently affected by the monkey pox (MPOX) outbreak stand to gain from a $135 million World Health Organization (WHO) financing proposal.

The organization said in a statement on Monday that the fund was required because it has started a global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan to stop mpox epidemics via coordinated national, regional, and worldwide actions.

This comes after the WHO Director-General on August 14 declared a public health emergency of international significance.

Though the current plan covers the six-month period from September 2024 to February 2025, it is open to revisions based on input from WHO member nations, who were informed on it on August 23.

A $135 million financial requirement is anticipated during that time for the response by the World Health Organization (WHO), member nations, and partners, which include communities, researchers, and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), of which Nigeria is a member.

The plan focuses on implementing comprehensive surveillance, prevention, readiness, and response strategies; advancing research and equitable access to medical countermeasures like diagnostic tests and vaccines; minimizing animal-to-human transmission; and empowering communities to actively participate in outbreak prevention and control. It builds on the standing and temporary recommendations issued by Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization.

In order to break the chains of transmission, targeted vaccination campaigns will target those who are most vulnerable, such as healthcare professionals and those who have recently been in close contact with a case.

Globally, the focus will be on timely evidence-based recommendations, strategic leadership, and providing the most vulnerable populations in impacted nations with access to medical countermeasures.

In order to improve coordination across important areas of planning, readiness, and response, WHO said it is collaborating with a wide range of international, regional, national, and local partners and networks. Participation in the ACT-Accelerator Principals group, the R&D Blueprint for Epidemics, the Standing Committee on Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, and Response, and the interim Medical Counter Measures Network (i-MCM Net) are a few examples of this.

“It is possible to stop and control the mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighboring nations.

A thorough and well-coordinated plan of action including international organizations, local and national partners, civil society, manufacturers and researchers, as well as our Member States, is necessary to achieve this. According to Dr. Ghebreyesus, “This SPRP offers that plan, founded on the principles of equity, global solidarity, community empowerment, human rights, and coordination across sectors.”

Nigeria Steps Up Monitoring When Mpox Cases Reach 39
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory have reported 39 confirmed cases of mpox, with no deaths reported.

The information was revealed by Jide Idris, the director general of the NCDC, during a press briefing earlier this month regarding the designation of mpox as a public health emergency of worldwide importance.

According to him, the NCDC is stepping up surveillance throughout Nigeria in order to quickly identify and address any new cases.

Idris claims that the NCDC has put all port health services on high alert at all five international airports, ten seaports, and fifty-one land/foot crossing borders.

He continued by saying that a few other states, including the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Kano, Rivers, Cross-River, Akwa-Ibom, Adamawa, and Taraba, have also been placed on high alert.

A global public health emergency was recently declared by WHO due to the increase in mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and their transmission to neighboring countries.

In order to assess the outbreak and provide Dr. Ghebreyesus with recommendations, the WHO convened a conference of specialists.

“The emergency committee convened today and informed me that, in their opinion, the current state of affairs is a public health emergency of global significance. At a press conference, Tedros said, “I have taken that advice.”

All of us should be concerned about this. In order to stop the spread of the disease, treat those who are sick, and save lives, WHO is dedicated to organizing the worldwide response in the coming days and weeks. We will do this by collaborating closely with all of the impacted nations and making use of our ground presence.

The decision was made in response to the expanding outbreak, which prompted the African Union’s health inspector to declare a public health emergency.

The virus, formerly known as monkeypox, was first identified in people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970. From there, it spread to other nations.

Tedros stated that this year’s figure of over 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has already surpassed that of last year.