Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, Deputy Health Minister
The country recorded eight deaths and more than 1,000 confirmed cases of Mpox following a fresh outbreak of the disease in May 2025, the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has disclosed in Parliament.
The Minister made the revelation on the floor of the House while responding to questions from the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, regarding the rising number of Mpox cases reported across the country.
Mr. Akandoh said the country has so far recorded 1,038 confirmed cases and eight deaths since the outbreak began, with most of the fatalities occurring among persons with underlying health conditions.
He added that only one patient is currently on admission and no critical cases have been reported at the moment.
Providing an update on the spread of the disease, the Health Minister stated that 124 districts across all regions, representing about 47.5 percent of the country, have reported confirmed Mpox cases.
The Greater Accra and Western Regions, he noted, remain the most affected areas.
He explained that the Ministry of Health, working through the Ghana Health Service and in collaboration with partners, activated a coordinated multi-sectoral response soon after the outbreak was detected.
The response strategy includes strengthened surveillance systems, enhanced emergency coordination, and aggressive contact tracing with a mandatory 21-day follow-up period for suspected contacts.
Laboratory testing, he said, continues to be conducted at key facilities including the National Public Health Reference Laboratory, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research.
Mr. Akandoh indicated that case management and infection prevention measures had been reinforced, while public education campaigns had been intensified through collaboration with community leaders, civil society organisations and the media.
Vaccination has also played a significant role in containing the outbreak. According to the Minister, Ghana received 33,600 Mpox vaccines through support from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Out of this number, 31,231 people in 12 districts across the Ashanti, Greater Accra and Western regions have been vaccinated, representing more than 95 percent coverage of the targeted high-risk population.
Mr. Akandoh assured Parliament that the government is fully covering the medical costs of patients affected by the disease.
“Medical bills relating to patient care during this outbreak are covered by the state, so no cost is passed on to affected persons,” he said.
Despite sporadic cases recorded in recent months, the Minister said the overall trend shows a significant decline in infections following the introduction of vaccination and other containment measures.
He assured the House that the government remained committed to strengthening the country’s public health response systems, and called on Members of Parliament to support efforts to provide accurate information to the public to prevent further spread of the disease.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House