According to the World Health Organization (WHO), countries have to collaborate in order to limit the spreading monkeypox outbreak.
And they will have to do so “no matter the nationality, skin colour or religion of the affected population,” the statement reads.
As WHO Assistant Director-General for Emergencies Ibrahima Soce Fall explained, the organisation has been “working on monkeypox in Africa for several years, but nobody was interested”, as the tropical disease was considerably neglected. But, on the other hand, when
northern countries were affected, “the world reacted” rapidly.
“It was the same with the Zika virus and we have to stop this discrimination,” added Dr. Fall.
“[…] The world must be involved to protect these populations, no matter their nationality, their skin colour, or their religion.
“I think it is extremely important and now that more than 70 countries are affected in the world, everyone is getting active”, he stated.
Starting this year’s 23 July, WHO declared the monkeypox outbreak to be a global public health emergency aiming to trigger immediate coordination, cooperation and solidarity among all nations in order to stop the spreading of the infection.
The virus, endemic for Africa, has strangely and rapidly spread outside the continent, with currently more than 21,000 confirmed cases worldwide.
“It is important, and we have already been doing so, to accelerate the research and development agenda on Monkeypox so that the most affected African countries can have the resources to prevent and fight against Monkeypox. […]
“We have had many cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Cameroon, and some sporadic cases in countries such as Ghana, Benin etc.
“I think it is time that the world invests so that these populations that are living in rural areas and in forest areas, can be protected
“[…] if we only treat what is happening in Europe and America, we will only treat the symptoms of Monkeypox, but not the real disease. It is important that the world gets mobilized to this kind of disease”, concluded Dr. Fall.
A vaccine preventing Monkeypox was approved since 2019, yet availability remains an issue for most of the recipients at the time being.
Source: news.un.org
