Grapevine

Mpox may affect Nigerian, African economies – Fitch

It, however, said that any fiscal impact under such a scenario would probably be partially offset by additional financing from donors and official and multilateral partners.

Last Friday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Nigeria had recorded a total of 40 confirmed cases of Mpox out of 830 suspected cases across the country.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared Mpox a continental security public health emergency on August 13.

Several Fitch-rated SSA sovereigns reported confirmed Mpox cases in July-August, including Cote d’Ivoire (BB-/Stable), Kenya (B-/Stable), Rwanda (B+/Stable), South Africa (BB-/Stable) and Uganda (B+/Negative).

While pointing out that in most of those countries, the number of confirmed Mpox cases was low, often in the single digits, Fitch raised concerns that there could be underreporting in some countries.