On August 23, Ambassador Dr. John Nkengasong, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy, led a special session of the Foreign Ministry Channel for Global Health Security (FMC) to discuss the global response to the surge of Clade I mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and other African countries. On August 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern following the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's (Africa CDC) declaration of a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security on August 13.
During the session, WHO’s Dr. Maria van Kerkhove, Africa CDC’s Dr. Ngashi Ngongo, and Dr. Christian Ngandu representing the DRC government provided updates on the mpox situation and their roles in supporting the response. Foreign ministry partners shared information to strengthen international collaboration to prevent mpox spread, detect cases, treat those affected by the virus, and address obstacles impeding the response. The United States emphasized timely action to save lives and prevent disease spread, noting that an infectious disease threat anywhere can be a threat everywhere. Representatives from Africa CDC, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, DRC, European Union, France, Germany, Japan, Morocco, Norway, Republic of Korea, South Africa Spain Sweden Thailand United Kingdom WHO attended.
The State Department and foreign ministry counterparts launched FMC in March 2024 as a platform to elevate attention and resources to global health threats as part of foreign policy and collective security. FMC has convened multiple meetings in 2024 under diverse country leadership with additional meetings planned in 2024-2025 to advance specific global health security priorities.
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