Barbados Times

Barbados, Caribbean & World News
Tuesday, Dec 03, 2024

Mpox No Longer A Global Health Emergency: WHO

Mpox No Longer A Global Health Emergency: WHO

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the decision was prompted by falling case numbers worldwide, but emphasised that the disease remains a threat, particularly in areas of Africa.
The World Health Organization declared that mpox no longer constitutes a global health emergency on Thursday, almost exactly a year after the disease formerly known as monkeypox started spreading globally.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the decision was prompted by falling case numbers worldwide, but emphasised that the disease remains a threat, particularly in areas of Africa where it has long been present.

The announcement comes just a week after the UN agency also declared that Covid-19 no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), its highest level of alarm.

"However, as with Covid-19, that does not mean that the work is over," Mr Tedros told an online press conference.

"While the emergencies of mpox and Covid-19 are both over, the threat of resurgent waves remains for both. Both viruses continue to circulate and both continue to kill," Mr Tedros said.

Though long present in parts of Central and West Africa, in May last year cases of the disease started emerging in Europe, North America then elsewhere, mostly among men who have sex with men.

The WHO declared mpox was a PHEIC in July. But the number of people infected with the disease -- which causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions -- has consistently fallen since.

More than 87,000 cases and 140 deaths have been reported from 111 countries during the global outbreak, according to a WHO count.

Almost 90 percent fewer cases were recorded over the last three months compared to the previous three-month period, Mr Tedros said.

'Downward trend'

"While we welcome the downward trend of mpox cases globally, the virus continues to affect communities in all regions, including in Africa, where transmission is still not well understood," he said.

He added that cases related to travel also represented an ongoing threat.

"Mpox continues to pose significant public health challenges that needs a robust, proactive and sustainable response," he added, calling on countries to maintain surveillance and access to tests and vaccines.

Because the global cases were overwhelmingly among men who have sex with men, there were fears that discrimination would mar the response to the outbreak.

"While stigma has been a driving concern in managing this epidemic and continues to hamper access to care for mpox, the feared backlash against the most affected communities has largely not materialised," Mr Tedros said.

"For that, we are thankful."

He also highlighted that people with untreated HIV are at particular risk from mpox.

The monkeypox virus -- which causes mpox disease -- is transmitted through close contact with infected humans or animals, as well as via materials such as contaminated sheets.

It was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Until May last year, its spread among humans had been mainly limited to certain West and Central African nations.

After the emergency status was lifted for Covid and mpox, there is now just one WHO-declared PHEIC -- for poliovirus, which was declared in May 2014.
Comments

Brad 2 year ago
Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts calls out the World Health Organization’s disturbing abuse of powers, including WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Substack
Brad 2 year ago
5 Shocking Facts About WHO Chief
Brad 2 year ago
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan announced earlier this month that he had instructed his cabinet to reclassify COVID-19, placing it in the same category as seasonal flu, rubella, and chickenpox in spring.
“In order to further advance the efforts of ‘living with Corona’ and restore Japan to a state of normalcy, we will transition the various policies and measures to date in phases,” Kishida said.
Brad 2 year ago
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus age 55 Admits He Isn't JABBED. 
Twitter (VIDEO)

4:40pm Aug 3, 2022 

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus age 55?

* He is the organisation’s first leader without medical qualifications.

* The complaint also alleged that Dr Tedros oversaw the “killing, and causing serious bodily and mental harm to, members of the Amhara, Konso, Oromo and Somali tribes with intent to destroy those tribes in whole or in part”.

In his complaint, Mr Steinman pointed to a 2016 US government report on human rights in Ethiopia that found the “civilian authorities at times did not maintain control over the security forces, and local police in rural areas and local militias sometimes acted independently”.

Mr Steinman, a former consultant to the US National Security Council, was a senior foreign adviser to Ethiopia’s democracy movement for 27 years until its victory in 2018 under Abiy Ahmed Ali, the current prime minister.

Dr Tedros has risen to international prominence as the leader of the UN’s health body during the coronavirus pandemic. He is the organisation’s first leader without medical qualifications.

He claimed that Dr Tedros “was a crucial decision maker in relation to security service actions that included killing, arbitrarily detaining and torturing Ethiopians”.

The complaint to prosecutors at the ICC comes after General Berhanu Jula, Ethiopia’s army chief of staff, called last month for the WHO leader to resign. He accused him of trying to procure weapons for the Tigray region, where the Ethiopian army is fighting local forces.

Mr Steinman added that the US report cited “other documented crimes”. He accused Dr Tedros of being involved in the “intimidation of opposition candidates and supporters”, including “arbitrary arrest . . . and lengthy pre-trial detention”.

Mr Steinman claimed that during the four years Dr Tedros “co-led” Ethiopia’s government, the regime “was marked by widespread or systematic crimes against humanity by subordinates”.
His complaint can proceed only if it is adopted by prosecutors at The Hague court, which is independent of the UN. If they do, it would be the first prosecution of a senior UN figure.

* The Guy With "NO" Medical Qualifications Says Pandemic Isn't Over

On Monday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the pandemic is not yet over.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Barbados Times
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×