Failure to deal with mpox outbreak ‘is risk not just to Africa but whole world’

Health leaders warn that global response to virus is test case for equity and preparation for future pandemics

A failure to show solidarity with African countries at the heart of the mpox outbreak will put the world at risk and harm preparations for future pandemics, health leaders have said.

The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared an international public health emergency in the face of rising cases that are spreading beyond the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the virus is endemic.