[OPENING REMARKS]
Dear colleagues and friends,
Good afternoon, and thank you all for taking the time to join our conversation today.
Until earlier this year, few people outside Africa and the public health community had even heard of monkeypox.
In just a few months, it has become a household word.
More than 50 thousand cases and 16 deaths have now been reported to WHO since the outbreak began earlier this year.
Already, the number of cases reported this year eclipses the total number reported since monkeypox was first identified in 1958 - although there has obviously been significant underreporting in Africa.
Although mortality is thankfully very low, many of those infected report severe pain that sometimes requires hospitalization to manage.
The vast majority of cases - more than 95%, are among men who have sex with men, with a median age of 36.
Among cases where HIV status is known, about 40% of reported monkeypox cases are among people who are also living with HIV.
However, we need more information from more countries on how these conditions interact.
It's encouraging to see that in some countries in Europe and North America we now see a sustained decline in cases, demonstrating the effectiveness of public health interventions and community engagement to track infections and prevent transmission.
These signs confirm what we have said consistently since the beginning: that with the right measures, this is an outbreak that can be stopped.
And in regions that do not have animal-to-human transmission, this is a virus that can be eliminated.
But it won't just happen. To stop the outbreak and eliminate this virus, we need, first of all, the evidence that it's possible, which we are now beginning to see;
But we also need political will and commitment; and the implementation of public health measures in the communities that need them most.
And for those measures to be effective, community engagement is essential.
That's true of the response to any outbreak or health threat, but it's especially true in communities that in many countries continue to face stigma, discrimination and criminalization.
We know from many years of collaborating with MSM communities on HIV and other health issues that these communities are highly resilient, and are often health literate, well-organized and proactive in managing sexual health.
We learn from working with you.
I look forward to hearing about what you are doing to protect your communities, as well as your ideas and advice on how WHO might better support you in the months ahead.
Your advice on how to best reach those in most need in all contexts will be essential.
We must also work hard to ensure that the inequities in access to vaccines, tests and treatment that we saw in the COVID-19 pandemic are not repeated.
On testing, only PCR tests are available, and many countries can't access them. WHO is in touch with a number of manufacturers that are developing rapid tests, which would be a welcome new tool.
On treatment, WHO holds a small reserve of the antiviral tecovirimat, which we will supply to countries on request for compassionate use, under certain circumstances.
We are also in discussions with SIGA over a donation of doses under a WHO protocol for the ethical use of experimental treatments.
We're working to ensure that as these antivirals are used, evidence is collected via clinical trials or standardized study designs to evaluate safety and efficacy in humans.
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On vaccines, I was pleased last week that WHO's Regional Office for the Americas signed an agreement with Bavarian Nordic to support access to that company's vaccine in Latin America and the Caribbean.
We're also in touch with Japan about a donation of approximately 100,000 vaccine doses for research, with the potential for further donations in the future.
It is encouraging to see progress, but there are clear challenges both in terms of production capacity and developing clinical evidence quickly.
Thank you all once again for your participation today, and for your commitment to protecting your communities.
Today is about listening to you, so we can better support you to do that.
Andy, back to you.
