WHO Declares Mpox Global Health Emergency, Warns of Further Spread |
The mpox outbreak that has spread to at least thirteen African countries and killed more than five hundred people constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared yesterday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said its “potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying.” Scientists have determined that the current version circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries is more deadly than the one that prompted a similar emergency declaration in July 2022. That outbreak killed around two hundred people. Yesterday’s WHO declaration followed the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s on Tuesday that mpox constituted a continental health emergency.
The 2022 mpox outbreak stayed mostly within tight sexual networks, and a combination of behavior changes and vaccination were able to control it. The version currently circulating is more virulent, according to research. Those most vulnerable include women and children under fifteen. The WHO invited vaccine manufacturers to apply for a special emergency listing that would allow groups to purchase and distribute shots in low-income countries. The Africa CDC estimates that the continent would need around ten million doses to curtail the current outbreak. (NYT, CNN)
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“Declaring a regional emergency is a natural and important way for African countries to work together to contain outbreaks within the region,” Georgetown University’s Lawrence Gostin tells Think Global Health. “Declaring both a regional and global emergency shines a spotlight on the need for a coordinated and well-resourced response.”
“Although [mpox is not] dangerous to the American public right now, the future remains opaque. Making matters worse, the United States’ ability to mount an effective response has gotten worse, not better: despite the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country is less equipped to respond to public health challenges than it was five years ago,” Johns Hopkins University’s Caitlin Rivers writes for Foreign Affairs.
This CFR timeline traces major epidemics of the modern era.
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South Korean President Offers New Channel for Talks With North Korea |
President Yoon Suk Yeol proposed new dialogue for “freedom-based unification” and humanitarian aid to North Korea in a speech today. Tensions between the two countries have risen this year, with Pyongyang abolishing laws for economic cooperation with Seoul and displaying missile launchers to deploy at the border. (Nikkei, Bloomberg)
Kiribati: The country’s president and opposition leader were reelected to their parliamentary seats in a vote yesterday. President Taneti Maamau has brought the country closer to China. Parliament will select candidates for president, who will be popularly elected later this year. (Reuters)
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Chinese Foreign Minister Meets Myanmar Junta Leader |
Wang Yi urged Myanmar to seek “political reconciliation” and get back on track with its democratic transition in yesterday’s meeting, according to the Chinese readout. Attacks near the China-Myanmar border in Myanmar’s civil war have stoked concerns in Beijing. The appearance of the junta’s head of command, Min Aung Hlaing, at the meeting dispelled some rumors he had been toppled. (Nikkei)
India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for “comprehensive discussion” on the replacement of religious-based laws on adoption, divorce, inheritance, and marriage with a uniform civil code. Some Muslim activists have criticized the proposal for threatening to erode religious freedoms. (Bloomberg, AFP)
This episode of the Why It Matters podcast discusses Modi’s Hindu nationalist agenda.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Mediators Hold Gaza Cease-Fire Talks as Death Toll Passes Forty Thousand |
U.S., Egyptian, Israeli, and Qatari delegations are meeting today in Doha about a possible cease-fire and hostage release deal in the Israel-Hamas war. Hamas sat out the talks, but said it will reengage if it receives a “clear commitment” from Israel on the latest proposal. Gaza’s health ministry reported the Palestinian death toll in the war passed forty thousand people today. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its count. (WaPo, AP)
Turkey/Syria: Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said yesterday that Syria had demanded a timetable for the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the country before starting any talks to restore ties. The two countries had been sending signals they were interested in reviving bilateral engagement, but now Ankara perceives Damascus’s demand as an unwillingness for a “return to peace,” Güler added. (Al-Monitor, AP)
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Sudan Peace Talks Stretch Into Second Day Without Both Sides Present |
A delegation from paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces arrived for the talks at an undisclosed location in Switzerland, but has largely seemed to be withdrawn from them. The Sudanese army is not there at all. Still, participants including the United States said they were working out frameworks for a cease-fire and the delivery of aid. (BBC, Reuters)
CFR’s Center for Preventive Action tracks the civil war in Sudan.
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Ukraine Says It Targeted Four Russian Airfields in Drone Attack |
Russia’s defense ministry said yesterday that Kyiv fired 117 drones at its territory. The attack came as Ukraine was nine days into a cross-border push into Russia’s Kursk region. The human rights commissioner of Ukraine’s legislature said Russia had contacted Ukraine regarding a prisoner exchange after Ukraine took Russian soldiers captive. Ukraine’s military intelligence confirmed to the Financial Times it was working on an exchange. (FT)
Germany/Poland/Ukraine: German authorities issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian citizen who had been living in Poland and is suspected of blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022, Polish prosecutors said yesterday. The German federal prosecutor’s office declined to comment. Kyiv has long denied any Ukrainian government responsibility for the attack on the pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe. (NYT, FT)
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Ships Delay Return to Panama Canal Route Despite Drought Easing |
Low water levels in the Panama Canal last year led its authorities to limit the amount of ships that could travel through per day. Numbers have still not returned to expected levels, underscoring how climate change and other disruptions may reshape global trade. Changing shipping patterns at the canal also reflect the fact that more U.S. liquefied natural gas is now going to Europe rather than Asia, owing to the effect of the Russia-Ukraine war. (FT)
This In Brief by CFR’s Diana Roy looks at last year’s canal logjam.
Panama: U.S.-funded flights to repatriate undocumented migrants from Panama’s southern border will start this month, Panama’s president told U.S. President Joe Biden in a call yesterday, according to a statement by the Panamanian government. (Reuters)
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Trump, Harris Tout Measures to Address Consumer Prices |
In a speech yesterday, former President Donald Trump said he would boost U.S. domestic energy production and remove taxes on tips and Social Security in an effort to bring down consumer prices. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign said in a statement that she would push for a federal ban on “corporate price-gouging in the food and grocery industries.” (Bloomberg, CNBC)
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