Geneva: The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has declared the outbreak of monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its increasing numbers in African countries as an international public health emergency.
Dr Tedros’ announcement came on the advice of an emergency committee of independent experts, who made the decision after reviewing data presented by WHO and experts from affected countries.
The Committee informed the Director-General that it considered the outbreak of monkeypox to be a health emergency with the potential to spread to African countries and possibly beyond the continent.
The Director General will share the report of the committee meeting and based on the advice of the committee, provisional recommendations will be issued to the countries regarding the prevention of monkeypox.