A caring response to mpox
Since the reopening of societies following the recent pandemic, concerns have lingered that the world is unprepared for a similar health crisis. Yet lessons from COVID-19 are now shaping the response to the latest global alert. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared a global emergency based on its analysis of a new strain of mpox in Africa.
The WHO has called for assistance to those afflicted countries that may lack the means to contain the outbreak. The world needs “a tailored and comprehensive response, with communities at the centre, as always,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
His words indicate the need for more than medical supplies and personnel. As health workers know well, dealing with the public fear of a disease requires calmness, honesty, and empathy. The risks of mpox should not be overestimated or underestimated, said Magnus Gisslén, Sweden’s state epidemiologist, after his country recorded one of the first cases of the strain to emerge beyond Africa. Along with other European officials, he rejected calls for a travel ban to avoid stigmatizing other countries or their traveling citizens.
In Africa, officials have so far displayed a greater degree of transparency. During past health crises, such as the one surrounding HIV, governments were often reluctant to publicly admit a problem that would require a change in social traditions. Now, more officials are concerned with helping communities work through social stigmas that might create resistance toward professional care. Officials in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda, for example, say they are working together to coordinate caring responses to workers who regularly cross their borders. The outbreak has also renewed attention on the humanitarian crises in Congo, where more than 500,000 people languish in refugee camps from war.
In a “toolkit” for dealing with mpox, a WHO report urged the need for empathy to be at the center. That means “establishing and maintaining trust with affected communities, addressing the emotional needs of those affected, ... [and] reducing stigma and fear,” it noted. In any pandemic, loving care can be a powerful antidote – and serve as a first responder.
