WHO, partners meet to avoid Covid failures on fair medical access for mpox

THE World Health Organization (WHO) is due to host an emergency meeting on Friday (Aug 16) to discuss ways to ensure fair global access to tests, treatments and vaccines for mpox, a leading official said, as the viral infection spreads in parts of Africa and beyond.

The meeting will be attended by members of an alliance of health experts who oversaw the global response to Covid-19 and include global health agencies such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

They will discuss how to ensure that failures during the Covid pandemic to ensure equal access to medical treatments are not repeated with the mpox outbreak, Ayoade Alakija, chair of the meeting and a WHO special envoy, said.

The United Nations health agency declared a global health emergency for mpox this week after a huge outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo spread into nearby countries. Sweden also reported on Thursday the first case outside Africa linked to the outbreak.

“We failed on product access last time, but we have learnt those lessons... and I will make sure that equity (equal access) is the first thing we are thinking about (now),” Alakija said. REUTERS