The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of monkeypox (mpox) that is spreading in Africa a global health emergency as it seeks to halt its spread.

The spread of the new mpox variant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), "its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously been reported and the potential for further spread in Africa and beyond are very worrying," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing on Wednesday.

The WHO last declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of international concern in May 2022, when cases of a less dangerous variant emerged worldwide. The WHO lowered its alert level a year later, but cases in Africa continued to rise.

It is now estimated that the new variant has already affected more than 15,000 people in six countries, with more than 500 deaths in the DRC. The variant was first reported in the DRC less than 12 months ago.

The WHO has developed a regional response plan that requires an initial 15 million dollars. The organization has already made about 1.5 million dollars available from an emergency contingency fund and intends to make more available in the coming days, while appealing to donors to finance the rest of the response plan.