The unprecedented global monkeypox outbreak was deemed a public health emergency on Saturday by the World Health Organization, giving it the authority to take additional steps to attempt to stop the virus's spread.
Unusually, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement despite the fact that the committee of experts he assembled to analyse the problem did not advise him to do so since they were unable to come to an agreement. A PHEIC was not deemed to be a public health emergency of international concern by the same committee when it met just one month prior.
Despite the fact that the committee doesn't actually vote, a poll of the members showed that nine believed a PHEIC shouldn't be declared and six agreed.
In a press conference held to announce the choice, Tedros said, "Nine and six is very, very close." I had to resolve ties because the committee's purpose is to make recommendations.
"We think that this will spur the entire world to action. Coordination is necessary, but it also requires solidarity, he noted.
The WHO stated in a report on the meeting that the emergency committee members who opposed the declaration of a PHEIC were worried, among other things, that it might lead to abuse and stigmatisation of men who have sex with men, the community where the vast majority of cases in this outbreak are occurring. The global health organisation was adamant that this should not occur.
“It is exceptionally important that the existence of a public health emergency of international concern and the intensification of surveillance and control efforts are not used as a means of coercive surveillance or for imposition of measures that would impede the dignity and human rights of the people affected,” said Mike
Only a handful of countries in Central and Western Africa have an endemic monkeypox outbreak. However, six instances were reported in May by public health authorities in London among people who had not visited an endemic country. In guys who have intercourse with men, four of the six were found.
In the following weeks, the number of cases worldwide exploded, reaching more than 16,000 in more than 75 nations across Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, new regions of Africa, South Asia, and Australia. There have been around 2,900 cases reported in the US.
Tedros is granted certain powers by the PHEIC (pronounced "fake"), including the authority to advise on the appropriate course of action for various nations. It might also encourage international cooperation for a more coordinated response. Involved in that endeavour
On Saturday, the WHO released a lengthy list of recommendations divided into four categories: those for nations that have not yet identified a monkeypox case; those for nations where there is still active human-to-human transmission; those for nations where the virus is naturally endemic; and those for nations with the ability to produce monkeypox vaccine and therapeutics. For example, countries with no instances were asked to improve their surveillance and be ready to handle infections should they arise. Nations having the ability to produce medications and vaccines were asked to do so and to share their products.