Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025249 (Oral 004) | Published: 08 Aug 2025
Lionel Solété Sogbossi1,&, Virgil Kuassi Lokossou1, Andrew Awori1, Mathias Obio2, Lawrence Lartey3, Aishat Usman1, Félix Agbla1, Mechior Athanase Aïssi1
1West African Health Organization (WAHO), Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso 2Ministry of Health, Côte d’Ivoire, 3Ministry of Health, Ghana
&Corresponding author: Lionel Sogbossi, WAHO, Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Email: lsogbossi@wahooas.org
Received: 27 Mar 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 08 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Mpox, cross-border surveillance, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, One Health, IHR
©Lionel Solété Sogbossi et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Lionel Solété Sogbossi et al., Enhancing cross-border Mpox surveillance: Lessons from Côte D’ivoire and Ghana’s bilateral collaboration. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00004. https://doi.org/10.37432/jieph-confpro5-00004
In response to the Mpox resurgence, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, two neighboring ECOWAS countries with shared borders and trade corridors, held a high-level bilateral meeting in Takoradi in February 2025. With support from WAHO, the objective was to strengthen real-time surveillance, risk communication, and coordinated response to cross-border outbreaks. This study describes the dynamics of cross-border health cooperation within the framework of the MPOX, identifying the levers and obstacles to effective regional integration.
An exploratory qualitative study based on inductive analysis, combining focus groups and document review, was used. Thirty-eight participants from human (21), animal (13), and environmental health (04) sectors shared country experiences and identified operational synergies in coordination, surveillance, case management, laboratory response, and community engagement. The discussions enabled comparative analysis, the documentation of good practices, and the development of concrete recommendations.
The workshop revealed major gaps in harmonized indicators, leading to the adoption of a shared surveillance indicator framework. Both countries acknowledged the absence of legal frameworks for cooperation and proposed a formal MoU. Weak logistical capacity at points of entry and poor data interoperability were flagged. Joint training programs and simulation exercises were planned. A binational action plan, including a monitoring mechanism, was adopted with clear timelines.
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