Minister Of Health Explains WHO Considerations For Increasing Mpox Status To Health Emergency

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin when delivering information regarding Mpox at the Jakarta Presidential Palace complex, Tuesday (27/8/2024). (ANTARA/Andi Firdaus)

Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin revealed the reasons behind the World Health Organization (WHO)'s decision to status monkeypox (Monkey Pox/Mpox) as a Global Health Emergency (PHEIC) on August 14, 2024.

Minister of Health Budi in a statement at the Jakarta Presidential Palace complex, Tuesday, said the emergence of the 1B clade in Africa was the main factor in changing the status.

"At the end of 2022, Mpox was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by WHO because the number of cases jumped from 0 to 30 thousand cases," said the Minister of Health.

The number of cases then increased dramatically to almost 90 thousand, continued the Minister of Health, before it stagnated and even declined.

"Now it's 103 thousand, so there's only a slight increase. But on August 14 with WHO, the status was increased again to a pandemic status," said Minister of Health Budi.

The Minister of Health expressed his confusion over the decision, given the relatively small increase in around 10 thousand cases in Africa.

After further coordination, said the Minister of Health, it was revealed that the main cause was the emergence of a new variant of clause 1B which had a far higher fatality than the previous variant.

"Clade 1B has a fatality close to 10 percent, much higher than the old variant which has a fatality of around 0.1 percent," said Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin.