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WHO AFRO Outbreaks and Other Emergencies, Week 51: 16 - 22 December 2019 Data as reported by: 17:00; 22 December 2019

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DR Congo
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WHO
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This Weekly Bulletin focuses on public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 69 events in the region. This week’s main articles cover key ongoing events, including:

  • Monkeypox in Nigeria
  • Ebola virus disease in Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Humanitarian crisis in Niger.

For each of these events, a brief description, followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.

A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as recent events that have largely been controlled and thus closed.

Major issues and challenges include:

  • Sporadic cases of monkeypox continue to be reported in Nigeria more than two years after the initial declaration of the outbreak in September 2017. The recent confirmation of a case in the United Kingdom in a traveller from Nigeria highlights the need for cross-border collaboration along with a one health approach to disease management and response in order to ensure early detection of imported cases.

  • Niger continues to suffer from a complex humanitarian crisis linked to insecurity caused by armed groups in the Sahel region. This is further exacerbated by flooding and outbreaks of epidemic-prone diseases. The security situation remains precarious in the areas bordering Bukina Faso, Mali and Nigeria, with increasing numbers of armed attacks in these regions. The security context hinders humanitarian access and results in large population movements, both internally and across borders.