Response to the multi-country monkeypox outbreak : a view from Africa

Abstract

Early in May 2022, the world was stunned by the concurrent emergence of monkeypox (MPX) cases in many countries outside the known endemic zones of the disease in Africa. This attracted global attention and rapid response, especially in non-endemic countries. Action plans, primarily the release of smallpox vaccines from the global stockpile, were initiated to control the outbreak, protect cases and their contacts and stop MPX from becoming an endemic in Europe and other non-endemic countries. Conversely, while MPX ravaged different communities in Africa, the world was silent as calls for support for field investigations during and between outbreaks, and research to generate data for a better understanding of MPX epidemiology, went unheeded, at both national and international levels.

The inattention and lack of adequate response to the continuous transmission of MPX in Africa over the past 30 years further highlights the past inequities in global health, more recently demonstrated by the poor availability of, and inadequate access in African countries to, COVID-19 vaccines and treatments for MPX including TPOXX (tecovirimat) and Tembexa (cidofovir). This recurrent problem should teach Africa a lesson, if not yet learned, that the continent cannot depend solely on equity to solve its infectious disease outbreak problems.