The World Health Organization and its partners have activated the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC) to tackle the mpox disease.
The world is facing another potential pandemic after COVID-19 in 2019. This time the world faces the threat of another communicable disease called the mpox.
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The WHO reports that this is the first time the GHEC has been activated to support countries facing mpox disease.
The GHEC is a grouping of professionals whose objective is to strengthen the response to health emergencies and a collaboration platform for countries and health emergency networks.
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The GHEC was set up in 2023 after the COVID-19 pandemic. This is to enable better coordination and streamlining efforts of existing networks to ensure maximum support for affected countries.
Currently, the GHEC is assisting professionals in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries to implement an integrated approach to case detection, contact tracing, targeted vaccination, clinical and home care, infection prevention and control, community engagement and mobilization and specialized logistical support.
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The new support system was first activated when mpox was declared a public health emergency of international concern by WHO on 14 August 2024.
So far, about eighteen African countries have reported cases of the mpox disease this year. The most affected countries however are the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
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As of now, the WHO has deployed 56 experts to the affected countries to aid in emergency response situations. Other additional volunteers have also been deployed to assist in the emergency work to improve health conditions in containing and finally eradication the disease.
