To prevent mpox from entering the country, Uganda has intensified surveillance in its border areas with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which is a hotspot for the virus.
Currently, Uganda has no active cases of mpox, according to the country's Ministry of Health. The two imported cases in late July have been treated and resolved without complications.
Up to now, the ministry has designated more than 20 districts along its border with the DRC as high-risk areas for mpox transmission. Uganda's health authorities also rolled out a nationwide training program for health workers to help them better detect and isolate suspected cases.
"We have already intensified our risk communication for prevention, we have also ensured that our laboratory systems are triggered to ensure that they are quick to pick any suspected cases for testing," said Emmanuel Ainebyoona, a senior public relations officer at the ministry.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared last Wednesday that mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, a public health emergency of international concern, raising alarms about its potential for increased global transmission.
Now, Uganda is in touch with WHO to access potential life-saving mpox vaccines, as part of the country's preparedness and response plan against the viral disease.
"Uganda is a known leader as far as responding to re-emerging and emerging epidemic diseases. We have demonstrated this during the Ebola and Marburg outbreaks. So, the mpox finds a very resilient system that will be able to prevent its transmission internally," said Ainebyoona.
According to WHO, the current mpox outbreak, spreading from the DRC, has been exacerbated by the emergence of a more lethal new variant of the virus, Clade 1b, which has a mortality rate estimated at 3.6 percent, significantly higher than previous strains.
According to the African Union's health agency, the number of new mpox cases reported in 2024 represents a 160 percent increase compared with the same period in 2023.
Uganda strengthens border surveillance to prevent mpox spread
Uganda strengthens border surveillance to prevent mpox spread
The second meeting of High-Level Consultation Mechanism on People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges between China and Japan, was held in Beijing on Wednesday, with 10 important agreements reached there.
Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese foreign minister, and Takeshi Iwaya, Japanese minister for foreign affairs, jointly attended the meeting.
The 10 agreement are as follows.
First, the two sides will promote youth exchange visits, and encourage and support study trips between the two countries.
Second, the two sides will deepen cooperation in the field of education, strengthen the exchange of overseas students, and support primary and secondary schools in the two countries to establish sister schools and institutions of higher education to carry out inter-school cooperation.
Third, the two sides will support tourism cooperation and introduce more facilitation measures to promote mutual visits between tourists from the two countries.
Fourth, the two sides will build more bridges for exchanges between sister cities and make good use of mechanisms and platforms such as the China-Japan Governor Forum, the China-Japan-ROK Cultural Exchange Year and the Culture Cities of East Asia to expand friendly exchanges at the local and non-governmental levels.
Fifth, the two sides will strengthen sports exchanges and cooperation, and support each other in hosting major sports events such as the 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in 2026.
Sixth, the two sides will support continued cooperation in film, television, music, publishing, animation, games and other cultural and entertainment industries, exchange visits of high-level art groups, and support the translation and publication of classic works between the two countries.
Seventh, the two sides will strengthen exchanges and cooperation between media and think tanks, play a positive role in bilateral relations, and strive to improve public opinion and the environment for public opinion. The two sides will support exchanges and cooperation in new media and encourage exchanges between positive vibes of the two countries.
Eighth, the two sides will conduct exchanges between women's groups and share experience on promoting the common development of men and women. China invites Japan to attend the Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.
Ninth, the two sides will build the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Kansai, into a platform for exchanges and friendship between the two peoples. China supports Japan in hosting the expo, while Japan welcomes China's participation and will provide assistance in the preparation and operation of the China Pavilion.
Tenth, the two sides will hold the third meeting of China-Japan high-level consultation mechanism on people-to-people and cultural exchanges in Japan in due course.
Noting that next year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Wang said that the purpose of remembering this history is to draw lessons from it and cherish the hard-won peace.
China hopes and believes that Japan can once again demonstrate its determination for peaceful development and work with China to promote the sound and stable development of China-Japan relations in the spirit of facing history squarely and looking to the future, said Wang.
Iwaya said Japan is willing to work with China to improve the quality of people-to-people exchange projects, deepen exchanges between sister cities and take more measures to facilitate personnel exchanges.
China, Japan reach 10 agreements on people-to-people, cultural exchanges
