For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: Risk from Mpox to travellers in SADC remains low; Kenya's top court suspends judgment declaring 2023 finance law unconstitutional; And, Congo hopes to receive first mpox vaccines by next week

Risk from Mpox to travellers in SADC remains low

The risk of Mpox transmission in Southern African Development Community countries remains lower than in many traveller source markets, and typical tourist activities do not put travellers at a high risk for contracting Mpox, says tourism development organisation the SADC Business Council Tourism Alliance.

Southern Africa remains a low-risk, safe and welcoming destination for tourism. Countries in the region have taken swift and coordinated response to the situation, while the risk to travellers is minimal, the organisation assures tourists.

The World Health Organisation has declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern for the second time in two years and, on August 13, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared it a public health emergency of continental security.

These declarations were prompted by the emergence of a new strain, named clade Ib, in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its spread to neighbouring countries, the tourism organisation says.

SADC member countries are implementing robust measures to manage and mitigate potential spread of the virus, says SADC Business Council Tourism Alliance chairperson Tshifhiwa Tshivengwa.

Kenya's top court suspends judgment declaring 2023 finance law unconstitutional

Kenya's top court today suspended a lower court's judgment issued late last month that the 2023 finance law was unconstitutional.

The finance bills, which are presented to parliament at the start of every financial year, are the main vehicle for the government to set out its revenue-raising measures including tax hikes and the introduction of new levies.

The Court of Appeal's judgment that last year's finance act was unconstitutional was a new blow to the government of President William Ruto, who withdrew this year's finance bill after deadly protests.

A conservatory order was issued suspending and staying the declarations.

And, Congo hopes to receive first mpox vaccines by next week

Democratic Republic of the Congo hopes to receive its first doses of an mpox vaccine by next week, following promises from the US and Japan to help it fight its outbreak, the Congolese health minister said.

In a news conference on Monday, Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba said that Japan and the US had pledged vaccines to Congo.

Their arrival would help to address a huge inequity that left African countries with no access to the two shots used in a 2022 global mpox outbreak, while the vaccines were widely available in Europe and the US.

Earlier on Monday, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said in an emailed statement to Reuters that it was preparing to provide Congo with supplies of mpox vaccines and needles in cooperation with the WHO and other partners.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter [@Polity ZA]