Mpox: US dismisses remoured travel restrictions on Africans

The United States has confirmed that it has no plans to impose travel restrictions on individuals arriving from African countries due to the rising cases of Mpox.

Ambassador John Nkengasong, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy, addressed the issue during an online press briefing on Monday.

“The U.S. currently does not plan to impose travel restrictions for people traveling from Africa,” Nkengasong stated, categorically dismissing the claims. “So, that is really a rumor. At this point, we do not think that is going to happen.”

Nkengasong’s remarks were intended to quell concerns that the U.S. might reinstate travel policies similar to those introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, including mandatory vaccinations for travelers. The ambassador emphasized that the rumors were unfounded and that the U.S. government was not considering such measures.

He further noted that the U.S. would continue to collaborate with the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to prevent the Mpox outbreak in Africa from escalating into a pandemic. The U.S. has also pledged an additional $35 million in support to combat Mpox.

“The U.S. is mobilizing additional resources. USAID has just announced $35 million in support, and we remain committed to controlling this outbreak in collaboration with the WHO and Africa CDC,” Nkengasong said.

The WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, has declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern twice: first in May 2022 and again in August 2024.

In August, the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control reported that Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Ghana were the hardest-hit countries in the region.

Despite ongoing efforts, the African continent faces significant challenges in controlling the Mpox outbreak, with a marked increase in cases and fatalities since the beginning of 2024. As of this year, 37,583 cases and 1,451 deaths have been reported, with the Democratic Republic of Congo bearing the brunt of the crisis, accounting for 96.3 percent of all cases and 97 percent of deaths continent-wide in 2024 alone.

The first half of 2024 saw a dramatic rise in infections across Africa—14,250 Mpox cases and 456 deaths—representing a 160 percent increase in cases and a 19 percent jump in fatalities compared to the same period last year.

In response, the U.S. allocated more than $2.65 billion in bilateral health funding to Central and East African countries in 2023. Additionally, in March this year, USAID and the CDC provided over $20 million to support Mpox response efforts in these regions.