AECID contributes one million euros to international fight against Mpox epidemic

Eduardo González The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) is going to contribute one million euros to the appeal of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) to fight against the Mpox epidemic, a monkeypox that affects different African countries. This contribution is in addition to the 100,000 vials of vaccines donated by the Ministry of Health to several countries in Central Africa. The monkeypox outbreaks (formerly known as "monkeypox") began in April 2022, when a growing number of cases of Mpox infection were observed in some African countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Nigeria. This increase in cases began to cross borders and infections were already reported in neighbouring countries such as Cameroon and Uganda in June 2022. In March 2024, a new outbreak of monkeypox was reported in the Ecuador region of the DRC and in the Central African Republic. This alert was followed by others in countries such as the Ivory Coast, South Africa, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo and Cameroon. Since then, there has been a constant increase in cases and deaths from Mpox. So far this year, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of infected people and 32 deaths (counting only those that have been confirmed) has reached more than 36,000 in 15 African countries (although the public health agency of the African Union reported on Thursday more than 1,100 deaths since the beginning of 2024 in 18 member states). These figures represent an increase of 180% and 25% of infections and deaths, respectively, compared to the same period in 2023, which has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare this Mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern in August 2024. The DRC is the epicenter of this epidemic, with 90% of the total cases in the African region. With this appeal, the IFRC aims to strengthen, through a regional approach, the capacity of Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies to respond to the pandemic in two main areas: scaling up health, water and sanitation services and addressing the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. The ultimate goal is to contain the spread of the outbreak while supporting affected communities to cope and recover.

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