Morocco: Postponement of International Conference on Public Health in Africa due to Mpox
The 4th International Conference on Public Health in Africa, initially scheduled to take place in Morocco next November will be postponement, due to the current epidemiological situation on the continent.
The announcement was made by Director General of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Jean Kaseya, at a news conference after talks in Rabat Friday with Moroccan Minister of Health, Khalid Ait Taleb.
“As the epidemic is developing in a rather dangerous way, and given that this epidemic requires us to focus all our energy on it, I have officially asked the Moroccan government (…) to postpone the organization of the conference,” said Kaseya.
The Moroccan government agreed to postpone the conference to prioritize addressing the MPOX crisis, the Health Ministry said, reaffirming Morocco’s commitment to strengthening health cooperation with African countries and international partners to support efforts to combat health crises and achieve health sovereignty on the continent.
The new date for the conference will be announced in coordination with the African Union and the African CDC.
The Africa CDC chief insisted that all efforts across the continent need to focus on combating the Mpox epidemic.
“We are currently examining all possible means of stopping this epidemic,” he said.
“My energy today is focused on the fight against this epidemic,” he insisted
The Africa CDC head also praised Morocco’s “solidarity” with the rest of the African countries in the fight against the Mpox epidemic.
“Morocco is, first and foremost, an African country (…) that is fully committed to solidarity. It is also a country of innovation, contributing to all efforts to equip the countries of the continent with the means to stop this epidemic,” he stressed.
Kaseya highlighted the importance of “local manufacturing” of vaccines and medicines to combat epidemics and health crises on the African continent, calling this a “priority”.
