World's Health organization Director-General has determined that the upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR). The current strain is more virulent than that which caused the 2022 10 month global Mpox outbreak. Africa has a tougher time responding because of a scarcity of vaccines. Until that gap is filled, which may take months, health NGOs have been emphasing the importance of sanitation basics in the push back against the spread of the virus.
Also, Ghana, the leading gold producer in Africa, has opened the country’s first gold refinery. Located in Accra, the Royal Ghana Gold Refinery is part of Ghana’s wider effort to increase the value of its gold and earn more money from the metal.
Finally, demonstrators calling for peace in Sudan gathered in Geneva as US mediators tried to launch a new bid to broker peace between the warring sides behind 16 months of brutal war in the country. A delegation of the RSF paramilitary on one side of the conflict attened the talks in Switzeland even though the army stayed away.
