The WHN in the latest development has declared the current monkeypox outbreak a pandemic. With 3,417 confirmed cases globally, the health body decided to make the declaration ahead of the WHO meeting.
According to the World health network, the essential purpose of declaring the disease pandemic is to achieve concrete efforts across multiple countries. The outbreak is rapidly expanding across multiple continents and will not stop without concerted global action, it said in a statement. So far 58 countries have reported confirmed cases of the disease.
The WHO meeting is scheduled on June 23, to decide the outbreak designation for the disease. It has stressed taking an action stating- unless actions are taken to stop the ongoing spread—actions that can be practically implemented—millions of people will die and many more will become blind and disabled.
“The outbreak of monkeypox is unusual and concerning. For that reason I have decided to convene the Emergency Committee under the international health regulations next week, to assess whether this outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had told journalists.
The WHN is a global coalition devoted to protecting health and minimizing harm to individuals and society formed as a people’s task force in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.