The United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, warned Friday that children in Burundi are bearing the brunt of the mpox outbreak, with cases of this deadly, infectious disease spreading at an alarming rate among a young population.

It is possible to end the mpox outbreak in Burundi within weeks, a U.N. health official said on Friday, but progress in Africa's second-worst affected country will depend on getting adequate resources and battling stigma associated with the disease.

Youngsters have been especially impacted by mpox outbreaks raging in Africa, with children under five accounting for nearly a third of the cases in Burundi, the UN children's agency said Friday. "Children in Burundi are bearing the brunt of the mpox outbreak,

UNICEF, the lead partner in education and emergency preparedness, is collaborating with the Ministry of Education to prevent the spread of mpox in schools.

Children and vulnerable communities have been at the sharp end of an expanding outbreak of mpox across Eastern and Southern Africa. With more than 3 million children in Burundi heading back to school as of 16 September 2024, UNICEF and the government are scaling up efforts for their safe return to learning amid the mpox outbreak.

UNICEF and partners are scaling up the emergency response in the DRC, Burundi and other countries in Africa, but more donor support is needed.