STORY This video contains footage some viewers may find distressing
An escalating outbreak of mpox in Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighbors has prompted Africa's top public health body to declare a "public health emergency of continental concern" for the first time.
Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo
But while experts hope that will galvanize a global response, many obstacles remain.
hy has an emergency been declared?
Mpox, which is usually mild but can kill, has been endemic in parts of Africa for decades.
A new strain, however, appears to spread more easily through routine close contact.
According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 15,000 mpox cases and 461 deaths were reported on the continent this year so far.
That a 160% increase from the same period last year.
A total of 18 countries have reported cases.
What does an emergency declaration do?
Benefits of the declaration, according to the Africa CDC, include the mobilization of resources across affected countries, the unlocking of essential funding, and the boosting of surveillance and laboratory testing efforts.
"This is not just an African issue."
Here's Africa CDC director general Jean Kaseya:
"And it is in this moment of vulnerability that we must find our greatest strength and demonstrate that we're all learning from the COVID lesson and we are applying solidarity."
Kaseya said there was a clear plan to secure the ten million vaccine doses the continent needs, including three million this year.
What's the problem?
But sources involved in planning a vaccination rollout in Congo said only 65,000 doses were likely to be available in the short term.
They added that campaigns were unlikely to begin there before October at the earliest.
That's on a continent where health facilities and humanitarian funds are already stretched by conflict and outbreaks of diseases like measles and cholera.
In Congo, there are no vaccines or specific treatments for mpox outside clinical trials.
Congo's regulators have approved the use of two vaccines domestically - but the government is yet to officially request any.
That's neither from manufacturers nor governments like the United States looking to make donations through the global vaccine group Gavi.
Speaking at an Africa CDC briefing, clinical diseases epidemiologist Salim Abdool Karim warned that tracing the spread of mpox is also difficult as it can often be mild.
The evidence they have on the numbers of cases and deaths, he said, "they're just the tip of the iceberg".
