The Mpox crisis is much bigger than Mpox
mpox infection. Fear and stigma make it difficult for patients to seek medical attention soon after symptoms arise, which include a painful rash, fever, muscle aches and sore throat. Misinformation is spreading rapidly.
Doctors and other health care workers are straining to fight not just the disease as it afflicts individual patients; they are also up against larger issues they have little control over.
The resurgence of mpox has reminded the world of how dangerous this disease is for personal and community health. But less focus has been placed on the profound crises that exacerbate outbreaks like these, particularly in Africa. They are made exponentially worse because of the broader sociopolitical and economic challenges that many African countries face, exposing vulnerabilities that extend far beyond the realm of public health.
Mpox is simply the latest crisis, and this cycle will not abate without meaningful action to alleviate the larger plights affecting the continent.
The Democratic Republic of Congo stands as a stark example of how a health crisis can intertwine with ongoing emergencies. The country experienced outbreaks like cholera, Ebola and Covid-19. Now it is at the center of the mpox outbreak in Africa.
