On Saturday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency just before the midterm election.
On Thursday, members of the expert committee met to discuss the recommendations regarding the ongoing monkeypox outbreak. According to Reuters, two sources told that members of an expert committee were split on the decision, but the responsibility for making the final decision rests with the director-general Tedros.
According to reports, Tedros overruled the decision of 8 members of the expert committee who voted against the declaration, only 6 are in favor.
“WHO’s assessment is that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in the European region where we assess the risk as high,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“There is also a clear risk of further international spread, although the risk of interference with international traffic remains low for the moment.
“So in short, we have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, and which meets the criteria in the International Health Regulations.
“For all of these reasons, I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern,” Tedros announced.
“The WHO label – a “public health emergency of international concern” – is designed to sound an alarm that a coordinated international response is needed and could unlock funding and global efforts to collaborate on sharing vaccines and treatments,” per Reuters.
