WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Friday that Monkeypox no longer constitutes a global health emergency, following a steady decline in cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other affected countries.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lifted the status following the quarterly meeting of the Emergency Committee on the outbreak.
He noted in his remarks that members recommended lifting the public health emergency of international concern.
He added that this decision was based on the continued decline in cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other affected countries, including Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.
He emphasized that lifting the status does not mean the danger has passed or the response has ceased, but rather that the situation remains an emergency on the African continent.
The WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern in August of last year following the outbreak of the Monkeypox, primarily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, based on the advice of members at the meeting of the Emergency Committee of the International Health Regulations.
Monkeypox (MOPOX) is a viral disease caused by the Monkeypox virus. Its common symptoms are a rash or mucosal lesions that can last from two to four weeks and are accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, weakness, and swollen lymph nodes.
