The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Friday that monkeypox, also known as mpox, no longer constitutes a global public health emergency, citing a steady decline in infections and deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other affected countries.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he accepted the recommendation of the agency’s Emergency Committee, which reviewed the outbreak during its quarterly meeting.
The organization had first declared an international health emergency in August 2024 following a surge of cases in central Africa.
Tedros noted that experts now have a better understanding of transmission patterns and risk factors, while many countries have built sustainable response capacity.
More than three million vaccine doses have been distributed to 12 countries, with about one million administered. He stressed, however, that lifting the emergency does not mean the threat has disappeared, as Africa’s CDC still considers mpox a continental emergency.
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