Equality and Human Rights

Several patients in a makeshift Mpox isolation ward in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are in urgent need of proper medical care as hospital staff struggle with drug shortages and overcrowding. These patients have been diagnosed with Mpox, a virus that was declared a global public health emergency three weeks ago. Reports over the past two weeks suggest that vaccines against the new strain of the virus are expected to arrive soon. In response to the outbreak, Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has approved a $10 million fund to support containment efforts. However, until these measures are implemented, health workers in parts of the DRC continue to struggle to provide adequate care for patients.

Morocco's King Mohammed VI has pardoned more than 4,800 people wanted or convicted of illegal cannabis cultivation. This was reported by the Moroccan newspaper Le Matin and the French news agency AFP on Monday evening (19 August), citing the North African country's justice ministry. The pardoned farmers simply met the 'conditions for pardon', the ministry said, explaining the decision.