One year since World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), African countries have scaled up response measures and made progress to curb the spread of the virus.

Coordinated action between governments, WHO, Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), communities and partners has helped strengthen disease surveillance, expand laboratory testing, roll out vaccination and improve treatment and care of people with mpox.

Mpox remains a serious public health challenge in Africa. In the past year, 28 African countries have been affected, with more than 174 000 suspected and nearly 50 000 confirmed cases reported. Around 240 lives have been lost.

However, response efforts are paying off. In the last six weeks, the weekly number of confirmed cases declined by 34.5% compared with the preceding six weeks. Over 3 million doses, almost half of the target have been delivered, more than 951 000 doses administered and around 900 000 people vaccinated with at least one dose.