The United States government is coordinating with several Central and Eastern African governments and other international partners to actively support response efforts for the clade I mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring countries. 

Mpox is a potentially deadly disease caused by infection with a virus known as Monkeypox virus. Mpox is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can be spread between animals and people. Clade I refers to one of two types of the mpox virus and can cause more severe illness and death. While the virus is endemic, or found regularly, in parts of Central and Eastern Africa, the recent surge and spread of the virus has elevated concerns about further international spread and potential impact of regional and global health security. In response to the increased impact of the outbreak, on August 14th the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

U.S. support for the mpox response is part of our robust and longstanding health partnerships for over 20 years with the Central and Eastern African countries, including the DRC, which have helped fight other deadly infectious diseases, such as HIV, TB, malaria and Ebola. 

Mpox Outbreak

In 2023, the DRC began experiencing an unprecedented outbreak of clade I mpox. DRC is reporting the largest annual number of suspected clade I mpox cases ever recorded, due to multiple concurrent outbreaks in all the country's 26 provinces. Since 2023, DRC has reported almost 30,000 cases of clade I mpox, and more than 1,100 deaths. In addition to DRC, several other central and east African countries - including Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda - have reported clade I mpox cases in 2024. For some of these countries, mpox is not known to be endemic. 

USAID Contributions

USAID is working closely with U.S. government interagency partners (including CDC, U.S. Department of State, and others), the governments of DRC and affected countries in the region, and other global partners to support the clade I mpox response. This effort has been in the interest of protecting those most vulnerable to mpox in affected countries as well as preventing the further spread to additional countries. 

  • USAID has activated an internal Mpox Response Team, led by the Global Health Bureau with support from USAID's Africa Regional Bureau and the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.
  • USAID has already provided $17 million to support response efforts for the clade I outbreak in central and Eastern Africa. On August 20th, USAID announced up to an additional $35 million in emergency health assistance to bolster response efforts in the region, pending Congressional Notification. This new commitment brings the total U.S. government support to more than $55 million in response to this outbreak. 
  • USAID assistance is supporting a breadth of response activities, including surveillance, risk communication and community engagement, laboratory and diagnostics, infection prevention and control, case management, psychosocial support, vaccine planning and coordination. 
  • USAID is donating 50,000 doses of the MVA-BN (JYNNEOS) mpox vaccine to the DRC. The United States is also working with other countries, WHO, Africa CDC, and international partners to encourage additional donations that support vaccine efforts and address challenges to vaccine delivery. This includes evaluating vaccine demand, supporting country engagement on regulatory pathways, supporting vaccine implementation plans, and providing technical assistance to deliver the vaccines. 
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Mpox Fact Sheet

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