Red Cross: Nigeria must act decisively to prevent further spread of mpox

Mannir Jega, director of health and care at the Nigerian Red Cross, says Nigeria must act decisively to prevent further spread of mpox.

Jega spoke on Wednesday in Kaduna state at the training of health workers from 15 states.

He said Bayelsa state has the highest number of mpox cases in the country, while the north-central region leads in the northern part of the country.

Jega said the Nigerian Red Cross, in collaboration with the ministry of health, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and their partners at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, have activated a robust response plan to combat further spread of the disease.

He said the plan would reduce the transmission of the disease and protect vulnerable populations in low-burden states.

“Mpox is a critical public health issue affecting our nation and the world,“ he said.

“The Mpox outbreak has been declared a global health emergency by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa CDC.

“Unfortunately, Nigeria is among the affected countries. The latest figures from NCDC revealed 108 confirmed Mpox cases out of 1,395 suspected cases this year, spanning 27 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“While we are fortunate that no fatalities have been recorded thus far, we must act decisively to prevent further spread and mitigate its impact.”

The director said a similar training on combating the outbreak of the disease had been conducted in 17 states.

He said the current training programme includes participants from Kano, Kaduna, Borno, Edo, and among other states.

“We trained them with the necessary skills and knowledge on how to respond effectively to the outbreak,” he said.

Cases of mpox have so far been reported across 80 countries, including 19 countries in Africa as of October 31.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, the hardest-hit country, recorded a large majority of suspected cases – over 39,000 – as well as over 1000 deaths.

On August 14, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared mpox public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).