The World Health Organization (WHO) is set to convene an emergency meeting on Friday to address global equity in access to tests, treatments, and vaccines for mpox, a viral infection currently affecting parts of Africa and beyond. The meeting aims to ensure that lessons learned from past inequities during the COVID-19 pandemic are applied to the ongoing mpox crisis.

Key Participants and Agenda

The session will bring together an alliance of health experts, including representatives from global health agencies such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. This group, which played a pivotal role in managing the global COVID-19 response, will focus on strategies to prevent a repeat of previous failures in equitable medical access.

Ayoade Alakija, chair of the meeting and WHO special envoy, emphasized that ensuring fair access to mpox-related health resources is a primary objective. “We failed on product access last time, but we have learned those lessons … and I will make sure that equity (equal access) is the first thing we are thinking about (now),” Alakija stated.

Repeated Challenges and Lessons Learned

The WHO’s emergency declaration for mpox on Wednesday came after the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo extended into neighboring countries, with Sweden reporting the first case outside Africa linked to this outbreak on Thursday.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted significant disparities in medical resource distribution, with high-income countries often securing supplies at the expense of low-income nations. Despite this, the WHO-led initiative ultimately succeeded in distributing nearly two billion vaccines, hundreds of millions of tests, and numerous treatments worldwide.

For mpox, the situation remains challenging. While the disease was declared a global health emergency in 2022, the response has seen uneven access. Regions like Europe and the United States have had relatively better access to vaccines, whereas Africa still lacks availability despite severe ongoing outbreaks.

Public Health Measures and Community Protection

Alakija stressed that addressing mpox is not solely about vaccine distribution. Public health measures, including awareness campaigns and community education, play a crucial role in combating the disease. This approach mirrors strategies used in the HIV response, aiming to empower communities to protect themselves through knowledge and preventive measures.

As the WHO addresses these critical issues, the focus will be on rectifying past inequities and ensuring a more balanced and effective global response to the mpox outbreak.

(Adapted from ThePrint.in)