According to the World Health Organization, at least $15 million, or almost Sh1.9 billion, will be required right away to support operations related to preparedness, response, and surveillance. The majority of assistance will go to the African nations that are the center of the current pandemic. There is only one Kenyan who tested positive for Mpox; he has since recovered. But more sick patients, according to specialists, have not been tested. Most Mpox patients develop a rash and, in a few weeks, recover without medical intervention. Rarely, people may develop severe illnesses and pass away.
The World Health Organization declared that the growing Mpox outbreak in Africa is a global health emergency and issued a warning that a more deadly strain of the virus might travel widely across international borders.
We have released about $1.5 million (about Sh193.5 million) from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies and we plan to release more in the coming days. We are also appealing to donors to fund the rest of the response plan,”
Tedros Adhanom, WHO Director
Over 100 laboratory-confirmed cases of the deadly clade 1b have been recorded in the last month in Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda—four neighboring nations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that have never before reported cases of Mpox. Experts believe that a bigger percentage of clinically suitable instances remain untested, which makes the true number of cases likely higher.
According to WHO, a portion of the funds received would help nations obtain vaccines and create plans for their distribution. Kenya and other developing nations receive vaccine subsidies from Gavi, which stated that the WHO’s declaration of a public emergency will allow it to quickly approve new vaccinations and repurpose available funds to purchase Mpox vaccines.
Following the presentation of the symptoms by a 42-year-old long-distance truck driver at the Taita Taveta border station on July 29, the Ministry of Health verified the single occurrence in Kenya. On July 12, he had left Kampala and gone to Mombasa. He was passing through Tanzania at the Taveta One Stop Border Point on his way to Rwanda at the time of identification. Since then, the patient has recovered. In order to create a strategy to stop the outbreak from spreading, Director General for Health Patrick Amoth called a crisis meeting with various ministry representatives on Monday. According to a ministry release, Amoth proposed important steps. They consist of thorough patient management, community involvement, quick laboratory testing, and infection prevention control.
