Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said on Friday there was no need for people to panic about Mpox, but they should exercise caution and remain vigilant at all times. File picture
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its partners to unlock support for Africa amid an outbreak of Mpox, which has been declared a public health emergency threatening the continent’s security.
In a statement on Saturday, speaking as the African Union (AU) champion on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR), Ramaphosa said he fully supported the director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s declaration of Mpox as a public health emergency of continental security.
“This crucial decision empowers Africa CDC to lead and co-ordinate our collective response efforts, strengthening the Mpox response at every level – from community engagement to collaboration with the highest political authorities and our international partners.
“The declaration will also galvanise political leadership and engagement among AU heads of state and government, facilitating the rapid mobilisation of essential financial and technical resources,” he said.
Ramaphosa called on AU member states to increase domestic resource allocation and lead their national Mpox outbreak responses through a one-health approach,to and enhance their capacities, particularly in areas such as capacity building, risk communication, community engagement, case detection, contact tracing and cross-border surveillance.
Since the start of 2024, a total of 17,541 cases (2,822 confirmed and 14,719 suspected) and 517 deaths due to Mpox had been reported across 13 AU member states. This week, three additional countries notified cases were under investigation for confirmation, bringing the total to 16 countries.
“Alarmingly, the number of reported cases in 2024 has surged by 160% compared to the same period in 2023,” he said.
Ramaphosa also called upon African Union policy organs to speed up finalisation of the framework to make operational the African Epidemic Fund – as approved by the heads of state during the 2023 AU Assembly – by the end of August.
“I have been closely monitoring the evolving Mpox situation, regularly briefed by the director general of Africa CDC and PPPR Commission. I am deeply concerned by the rapid spread of Mpox across multiple regions within the African Union, with a significant rise in both cases and fatalities, reflecting a concerning shift in the epidemiological pattern,” he said.
Ramaphosa commended the Permanent Representatives Committee for their decisive action in releasing $10.4 million (R187m) from the Covid-19 Fund to support the Mpox outbreak response.
He also welcomed the declaration by the WHO of Mpox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
“This PHEIC must be different and correct the unfair treatment from the previous one declared in 2022, where vaccines and therapeutics were developed and made available primarily to Western countries, with little support extended to Africa.
“I call upon WHO and all partners to collaborate closely with Africa CDC to ensure that this PHEIC unlocks appropriate support from the international community, guaranteeing equitable access to medical countermeasures, including diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines,” he said.
On Friday, the WHO urged manufacturers to ramp up production of Mpox vaccines to rein in the spread of a more dangerous strain of the virus.
The WHO is asking countries with mpox vaccine stockpiles to donate them to countries with ongoing outbreaks.
Two Mpox vaccines have been used in recent years – MVA-BN, produced by Danish drugmaker Bavarian Nordic, and Japan’s LC16, AFP reported.
Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said on Friday there was no need for people to panic about Mpox, but they should exercise caution and remain vigilant at all times.
Mohale said the department had identified a few Mpox vaccines for consideration, but the decision on the quantities would be determined by epidemiological data, rate of transmission, price and other factors.
“The current situation doesn’t translate into immediate pressure to secure vaccines, though vaccines are part of our pandemic preparedness plans,” he said.
“None of the Mpox vaccines are registered with the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) for distribution in the country, but the department is able to secure them through section 21 of the SAHPRA Act whenever a need arises. Our immediate priority is to intensify risk communication and community engagement, surveillance and contact-tracing activities,” Mohale said.
Aspen Pharamacare’s Dr Stavros Nicolaou, who is also the chairperson of Pharmaceuticals Manufactured in South Africa, said that since Covid-19, the fact was that four years later there was no vaccine production in Africa, and the continent was reliant on purchasing them internationally.
He said predatory pricing from other countries meant it was hard for Africa to get vaccines in a public health emergency.
ALSO READ: SA faces ‘vaccine apartheid’ as Ramaphosa mobilises Mpox global support
- BUSINESS REPORT