UNHCR urgently appeals for funds to reinforce health services amid mpox emergency

GENEVA – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, needs $21.4 million until the end of the year to urgently scale up critical response and prevention efforts for refugees in countries impacted by the mpox emergency. The appeal, launched today, aims to support 9.9 million forcibly displaced people and host communities in 35 countries across Africa.

At least 88 mpox cases have been reported among refugees in Africa, with 68 of them among refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the country that has recorded the highest number of cases globally. Cases have also been reported among refugees in the Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

Although mpox has been endemic in parts of Africa for decades, the rising number of cases of the new strain of the disease, clade 1b, particularly in the DRC, led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a public health emergency of international concern on 14 August. To date, there have been over 20,000 suspected cases reported in 2024 in Africa.

“This new mpox outbreak puts the most vulnerable populations at high risk, including many refugees and forcibly displaced communities living in difficult conditions,” said Allen Maina, UNHCR’s Public Health Chief. “They often live in overcrowded shelters lacking access to safe water, soap and nutritious food. For refugees and displaced communities already facing enormous challenges in accessing health care, these conditions place them at higher risk of falling sick and make it harder to protect themselves.”

Africa is home to over a third of the world's forcibly displaced people. Many reside in countries grappling with mpox transmission and find themselves in extremely vulnerable situations, compounded by protracted conflict, chronic lack of humanitarian funding and multiple disasters.

The mpox emergency threatens to further strain already overstretched humanitarian resources, potentially disrupting critical services and aid such as food distribution, education and protection activities.

“We need to support governments and partners in the mpox response to ensure that no one is left behind,” said Maina. “We need sustainable financing to strengthen health systems, water and sanitation facilities and other services, ensuring they are resilient now and in the future.”

UNHCR teams have been responding to the mpox outbreak since it first emerged in 2022, working with national and local authorities, UN agencies and other partners. To respond to the new, severe outbreak, UNHCR teams have reinforced handwashing points in refugee camps and transit centres, enhanced soap distribution and access to diagnostic testing, strengthened disease surveillance, screening and reporting mechanisms – including across borders – expanded training for community health workers and reinforced communication with communities to ensure accurate and accessible information is available to combat misinformation and reduce stigma associated with mpox.

UNHCR calls on the international community to increase financial support to boost preparedness and response efforts and reduce the exposure to the disease of those most at risk. While UNHCR has already reprioritized some resources to respond swiftly to the outbreak, the scale and complexity of the situation require additional funding to meet urgent needs.

These funds are also essential to ensure that refugees and other forcibly displaced people are fully integrated into government-led preparedness and response plans, in alignment with the Mpox Continental Preparedness and Response Plan for Africa co-led by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and WHO.

For more information please contact:

In Geneva, Olga Sarrado, [email protected], +41 797 402 307