On Oct. 29, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it had, in collaboration with Member States, activated the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC) for the first time to provide support to countries facing mpox outbreaks. Eighteen African countries have reported mpox cases this year, and the rapid spread of clade 1b mpox to at least two other regions has raised concerns about further spread.

GHEC is a grouping of professionals with the objective of strengthening the response to health emergencies, and a collaboration platform for countries and health emergency networks. It supports countries on their health emergency workforce, the surge deployment of experts and the networking of technical leaders.

GHEC was established by WHO in 2023 after the response to the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the need to streamline efforts of existing networks to ensure better-coordinated support to countries