Southern Africa Development Community summit ends in Zimbabwe

The 44th Southern Africa Development Community summit held in Harare, Zimbabwe, came to an end with leaders deliberating on the challenges facing the continent, including mpox. A total of 18,737 suspected or confirmed cases of mpox were reported in Africa since the beginning of the year, including 1,200 cases in one week alone, the African Union health agency said Saturday.

The figure accounts for three strains of the virus, of which one is the new more deadly and more transmissible Clade 1b which prompted the World Health Organisation on Wednesday to declare an international health emergency -- the agency's highest alert.