Mpox: Ramaphosa calls for pandemic agreement
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the international community to finalise a fair pandemic agreement amid the outbreak of mpox.
Ramaphosa expressed concern over the surge in cases at this weekend's SADC summit in Zimbabwe over the weekend.
Over 17,000 cases and 517 deaths have been reported across 13 African states this year.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, there were 24 cases in South Africa and three deaths.
Twelve cases were recorded in Gauteng, 11 in KwaZulu-Natal, and one in the Western Cape.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern.
Ramaphosa has urged the international community and various organisations to share vaccines with Africa.
"I commend the Permanent Representatives Committee for their decisive action in releasing $10.4 million from the Covid-19 Fund to support the mpox outbreak response. I urge the AU policy organs to expedite the finalisation of the framework for operationalising the African Epidemic Fund, as approved by the heads of state during the 2023 AU Assembly, by the end of August 2024.
"I call upon AU member states to increase domestic resource allocation, lead their national mpox outbreak responses through a One Health approach, and enhance their capacities, particularly in areas such as capacity building, risk communication, community engagement, case detection, contact tracing, and cross-border surveillance.
"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,” added Ramaphosa.
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