World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus The African region is experiencing an unprecedented increase in mpox cases since the start of 2024, with more countries previously unaffected by the disease reporting cases in an expanding spread of the virus. World Health Organization (WHO) has elevated the mpox outbreak response to the highest-level requiring organization-wide mobilization and scale-up. In addition, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called for an emergency committee of experts meeting to determine whether the outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Fifteen African countries are currently reporting mpox outbreak, with a total of 2030 confirmed cases and 13 deaths so far this year compared with 1145 cases and seven deaths in the whole of 2023. Four countries - Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda - previously unaffected by mpox have reported cases since mid-July 2024.