Mpox surge in West Africa: Unmet maternal health needs.

In the first half of 2025, mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) cases in West Africa appear to have multiplied, straining already-fragile health systems, diverting resources, and raising questions about maternal health implications. In 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) deemed mpox infections a public health emergency of international concern.1 With global donor funds at a low due to the withdrawal of the US from the World Health Organization (WHO), a scratched US Agency for International Development (USAID), and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cutbacks, it is an inopportune time for new outbreaks.