Mpox outbreak in Africa poses risks for refugees, displaced communities

Red Cross officials spread awareness of mpox in the Don Bosco refugee camp in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Aug. 22, 2023. Sarah Bagheni, in the Bulengo refugee camp in Goma, DRC, says she suspects she may be infected with mpox on Aug. 16, 2024, one day after the World Health Organization declared the increasing spread of mpox in Africa a global health emergency.

U.N. agencies warn that refugees and displaced communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries infected with mpox are at particular risk of illness and death because of conditions under which they are forced to live.