NAIROBI, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations migration agency appealed for 18.5 million U.S. dollars on Wednesday to provide critical healthcare services to the populations at high risk of being affected by mpox in East, Horn, and Southern Africa.
Amy Pope, director general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said the funds will also be used to provide healthcare services to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities in the region.
"We must act swiftly to protect those at the highest risk and to mitigate the impact of this outbreak on the region," Pope said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
She said the spread of mpox disease, which has emerged as a public health emergency of international concern amid a surge in cross-border transmissions, is a critical concern, especially for vulnerable migrants, highly mobile populations, and displaced communities often overlooked in such crises.
The IOM said the required funds will be used to enhance the capacity to respond to the needs of migrants, IDPs, and host communities by supporting infection, prevention, and control measures, particularly at borders.
The UN agency said the funding will be used to build the capacity of national healthcare workers and front-line responders and enable the identification of high-risk areas to ensure effective monitoring of the disease and reduce its spread across borders.
Mpox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus that is spread through close contact, including fever, swelling of the lymph nodes, sore throat, muscle aches, skin rash, and back pain.
The rapid spread of the new strain of the disease led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare mpox a public health emergency of international concern on Aug. 14.
According to the WHO, there are over 15,000 suspected cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone, including 537 deaths. Other cases have been confirmed in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda.
The IOM said it is concerned about migrants, IDPs, and highly mobile populations in the region, who tend to be at far greater risk of infection due to their living conditions and mobile and transitory lifestyles, which can greatly limit their access to health and medical care. ■
