Today marks a pivotal moment in Africa's journey toward a more secure and resilient health future. With great pride and determination, I announce the lifting of mpox as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS), following the recommendation of the Africa CDC Emergency Consultative Group (ECG). This decision is a testament to Africa's growing ability to lead and manage complex public health crises, backed by strong political will, regional unity, and effective global partnerships.
But here's where it gets even more significant: The declaration of the mpox PHECS in August 2024 was a historic first for Africa CDC, as it exercised its expanded authority under the revised 2022 statutes to declare a continental health emergency and coordinate a unified response. This move was prompted by a dramatic surge in mpox cases across the continent, with 80,276 suspected cases and 1,340 deaths reported in 2024—a five-fold increase in cases and a two-fold rise in deaths compared to 2023. The Democratic Republic of the Congo bore the brunt, accounting for 96% of cases and 97% of fatalities.
For decades, mpox outbreaks in Africa have been largely overlooked by the international community, resulting in inadequate investment in surveillance, diagnostics, clinical care, and outbreak response. African nations struggled with limited access to vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments available elsewhere, despite shouldering the majority of the disease burden. These systemic inequities, coupled with evolving epidemiological patterns, fueled the scale, spread, and severity of recent outbreaks, particularly among vulnerable populations.
And this is the part most people miss: African leaders acted swiftly and decisively. In April 2024, a High-Level Emergency Regional Ministerial Meeting on Mpox in Kinshasa galvanized political commitment and coordinated continental action. As the crisis escalated, Africa CDC convened the ECG, which assessed the situation and recommended the PHECS declaration. Since then, remarkable progress has been made through the collective efforts of the African Union, Member States, communities, health workers, scientists, and partners working within the Incident Management Support Team (IMST), co-led by Africa CDC and the World Health Organization.
The ECG provided consistent strategic guidance, meeting regularly to review evidence, refine strategies, and ensure scientific rigor in the IMST's work. Guided by the “4-Ones” principle—one team, one plan, one budget, and one monitoring framework—the IMST demonstrated a scalable and effective model for outbreak management. The response mobilized over US$1 billion in funding, strengthened community-based surveillance through digitalized health workers, expanded laboratory and genomic sequencing capacity tenfold, distributed over 5 million vaccine doses across 16 countries, and advanced a unified research agenda involving 2,000+ African and global scientists.
These efforts yielded tangible results. Between early and late 2025, suspected cases dropped by 40%, confirmed cases by 60%, and the case fatality rate among suspected cases plummeted from 2.6% to 0.6%, reflecting improved detection, care, coordination, and accountability.
But here's the controversial part: The lifting of the PHECS doesn't mean mpox is eradicated in Africa. Instead, it signifies a shift from emergency response to a sustained, country-led approach toward elimination. Mpox remains endemic in several regions, and continued vigilance, targeted investment, and innovation are crucial to prevent resurgence. Is this transition too optimistic, or does it reflect a realistic path forward? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
To support this transition, Africa CDC, in collaboration with WHO and partners, will launch the Mpox Transition Roadmap. This initiative aims to sustain prevention, preparedness, and control efforts; preserve gains from the emergency phase; and strengthen national systems for surveillance, laboratories, research, and risk communication. Vaccination will remain a cornerstone, alongside research on vaccine effectiveness and immunity duration, and accelerated local vaccine manufacturing as part of Africa’s Health Security and Sovereignty agenda.
The mpox response has set a precedent that will now be applied to other epidemic-prone diseases like cholera, diphtheria, measles, and polio, reinforcing the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response pillar of Africa’s health security framework.
I extend my deepest gratitude to the African Union leadership, Member States, communities, and all IMST partners. This achievement underscores Africa’s determination to move from emergency response to elimination, from dependency to sovereignty, and from vulnerability to resilience. Africa CDC remains unwavering in its commitment to this mission.
H.E. Dr Jean Kaseya
Director General
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)
