Guinea‑Bissau Mpox Outbreak: 23 Confirmed Cases, No Deaths, UNICEF Urges Funding

UNICEF’s latest humanitarian flash update reports 23 confirmed mpox cases and 135 suspected cases across the Sab, Biombo and Bafatá regions of Guinea‑Bissau, with no deaths recorded as of 27 September. The source of infection remains unknown for 74 % of confirmed cases, underscoring gaps in surveillance and contact tracing. Three confirmed cases involve infants around 11–12 months old, prompting a priority for close clinical follow‑up and household investigations as schools reopen. UNICEF is expanding prevention support, providing WASH supplies and informational materials to 50 health facilities and distributing posters and comic books to more than 5,000 public‑school classrooms in the affected regions. The agency urgently requests approximately US$250,000 in flexible funding to sustain these interventions, while the Ministry plans to extend the national response plan by an additional six months.