WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the third Meeting of the Committee of Heads of State and Government of Africa CDC – 21 September 2024

Your Excellency Mohamed Ould Ghazouani,

Your Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa,

Your Excellency Moussa Faki,

My brother Dr Jean Kaseya,

Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

On consecutive days last month, Dr Kaseya and I declared mpox a continental and international health emergency respectively.

Our two declarations are closely aligned, as my brother Jean said, and we have been working together closely, based on a joint plan and a joint response.

I'm glad to see the way Africa CDC has grown so significantly to become what it is now, since I first proposed it at the AU Summit in Abuja in 2013.

I thank all those who have supported the Africa CDC to go from strength to strength. Our joint leadership of the response to these mpox outbreaks marks a new era of collaboration for our two organizations.

I say outbreaks, because it's important to remember that we are not responding to one outbreak but several, caused by different clades of the virus, transmitting in different ways in different places.

We don't fully understand the dynamics of transmission, so even as we respond, we need to gain a better understanding of how the virus is emerging and spreading, so we can tailor our strategies.

WHO is on the ground, working with our many partners.

We're strengthening surveillance and field investigation, laboratory capacity, home and clinical care, infection prevention and control, risk communication and community engagement, and planning for targeted vaccination, with our partners.

Across nine countries, WHO has trained more than 1600 health workers on treating mpox.

On Friday, we delivered more than 33 tonnes of supplies to DRC, including essential commodities for testing, treating and preventing infections.

And in Burundi, WHO has addressed a critical fuel shortage to enable WHO, the government and our partners to continue our operations.

Earlier this month, WHO prequalified the first mpox vaccine, and we're coordinating with Gavi and UNICEF.

I thank the European Union, the United States, Japan and manufacturers for donating doses of vaccines.

Vaccines are now being deployed, but I need to underline an essential point:

Vaccines alone will not end these outbreaks. They are a powerful tool if used strategically in at-risk groups, but they are only one tool.

To support the most effective and equitable use of vaccines and other tools, WHO has launched the mpox Access and Allocation Mechanism, established under the interim Medical Countermeasures Network, or iMCM-net, which has been endorsed by WHO Member States.

Excellencies, there are three things we need to end these outbreaks:

First, political support for the global and continental plans, and the resources to implement them.

Second, national plans that are comprehensive and community-focused, using all the tools in our toolbox, and not relying only on vaccines, and as my brother Jean said, the vaccines are very expensive - US $270 a course - so for 10 million people it's US $2.7 billion, which is very challenging, and we have to find a way to bring down the cost of these vaccines.

And third, renewed commitment to addressing the underlying factors that are fuelling these outbreaks - the lack of clean water, sanitation and hygiene, weak health systems, malnutrition, insecurity, and the relationship between humans, animals and the environment they share.

We must also remember that mpox is just one threat the people of our continent face, including epidemics of cholera, measles, dengue, meningitis and more.

WHO is supporting Member States to respond to these multiple threats, with Africa CDC and other partners, with an integrated, multisectoral, multi-disease approach, based on strong primary health care, and with communities at the centre.

Finally, mpox is yet another reminder that the world needs a legally binding agreement to ensure a coordinated and equitable response to epidemics and pandemics.

We must ensure that we have a strong Pandemic Agreement, by the end of this year if possible.

WHO Member States have just completed the latest round of negotiations, and although they have made progress, they still have work to do.

Excellencies, my thanks once again to my brother Jean, the Africa CDC and the AU for hosting this event, and for your partnership. Together, with the support of our many partners, we can stop these outbreaks.

I thank you.

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