Africa maintains mpox emergency status despite global downgrade

The Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS) on mpox will remain in effect across Africa, despite the recent global downgrade of the disease’s threat status.

Health authorities insist that the measure is crucial to preventing new outbreaks, especially in countries where the virus continues to pose a serious risk.

The decision was announced by the Emergency Consultative Group (ECG), an advisory body to the Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

The group urged that lifting the emergency status now would undermine vigilance, weaken political commitment, and slow resource mobilization-factors that are still urgently needed to curb the spread of mpox on the continent.

This came after the World Health Organisation declared the disease to be nolonger an International Health Emergency early this month, following reports of a decline in cases in areas that are hotspots in Africa.

Director-General of the World Health Organization,Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the decision to lift the status was made based on sustained declines in cases and deaths in the DRC and other affected countries, including Burundi, Sierra Leon and Uganda.

“Over a year ago I declared a public health emergency of international concern in Africa on the advice of an emergency committee convened under the International Health Regulations,” he said.

“They recently met again and advised me that in its view, the situation nolonger represents an International Health Emergency and I have accepted that advice. We also have a better understanding of the drivers of transmission, the risk factors of severity, and the most affected countries have developed a sustained response capacity.

“Of course, lifting the emergency declaration capacity does not mean that the threat is over, nor that our response will stop and we note the Africa CDC’s decision yesterday that mpox remains a continental emergency”

But the ECG noted that lifting the status may fuel negligence in areas where the disease is still prevalent.

The group argued that maintaining the declaration is essential to preserve political will, mobilise resources, and keep countries on high alert. Members warned that lifting the status prematurely could trigger complacency, reduce funding, and increase the risk of resurgence.

According to a detailed review of the mpox situation, weekly confirmed cases declined by 52 per cent between weeks 17–22 and weeks 27–32 of 2025.

However, surges emerged in Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, Zambia, and Tanzania, with fresh introductions of the virus reported in Malawi, Ethiopia, Senegal, Togo, The Gambia, and Mozambique.

In Ethiopia and the Central African Republic, there were reports of infant deaths, while several countries such as Sierra Leone, Congo, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, CAR, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Cameroon continued to register case fatality rates above one per cent. The overall continental case fatality rate stood at 0.5 per cent.