Better health begins with ideas |
Now in eighty-nine countries, cases in the latest outbreak of the monkeypox virus have climbed close to thirty thousand. This week, we take an in-depth look at the global response to this infectious disease, and the insights it provides about the international institutions, governments, and communities most affected. Our first piece by Jeremy Youde looks at the response to monkeypox by the World Health Organization (WHO), suggesting that its hesitation to declare the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern contributed to the disease's ongoing spread. In a second commentary, David P. Fidler discusses the history of the international response to monkeypox and what the present outbreak reveals about the challenges facing U.S. foreign policy on global health.
Our next two pieces explain the health challenges monkeypox spread presents in lower-middle-income countries. One, by journalist Philip Obaji Jr., considers the steady rise in cases in Nigeria and how the country will manage its outbreak with strained health resources, especially if it does not get access to vaccine supplies. The other, by Aatmika Nair and Siddhesh Zadey, considers India's plans for coping with the outbreak so close behind the COVID-19 pandemic. Our last article, by CFR's Marcelo Agudo Pujol, stresses that clear messaging about how monkeypox spreads through sex could go a long way toward protecting vulnerable groups and reducing stigma linked to the virus.
As always, thank you for reading, and be well. —Thomas J. Bollyky and Mary Brophy Marcus, Editors |
The emergency declaration on monkeypox reinforces concerns about the WHO's role in global health governance Read this story |