On August 14, the WHO triggered its maximum alert level following a
resurgence of Mpox, previously known as monkeypox. An epidemic thatdeserves to raise the question of the conditions of its emergence and
evolution. ---- On August 14, it was through the voice of its Director
General that the WHO announced that it was triggering its highest level
of international alert, following the discovery of a new clade (variant)
of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The geographical
location of the country, surrounded by neighbors with international
airports (Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, etc.), raises fears of a global
spread of the virus. Unsurprisingly, it was not until it threatened to
leave the African continent that international institutions became
seriously concerned about the subject.
Repeated epidemics
The epidemic started in Kivu, a region affected by a complex civil war
situation for more than twenty years. The conflict, fueled by the
region's immense wealth of raw materials, creates conditions that are
particularly favorable to the emergence of this type of situation. The
huge refugee camps are conducive to the spread of diseases, with
extremely difficult and limited access to care. Local populations, in
situations of great poverty, are often led to consume makeshift game
such as small rodents, facilitating zoonotic transmission, i.e. through
an animal. Finally, the significant development of prostitution in the
region creates the conditions for strong transmission between humans: it
is likely in these networks that the current epidemic started. In 2019,
the region had already been affected by an Ebola epidemic, facilitated
by the same factors.
But outside of this local context, largely linked to the post-colonial
situation and the monopolization of natural resources, there is also the
question of the overall management of health issues. Indeed, the WHO is
limited to emergency management, intervening only when these situations
threaten to degenerate to the point of affecting Western countries.
No vaccine despite requests
No serious and consistent prevention and care policy is thought out in
advance. After the Mpox epidemic of 2022, several African countries
issued requests for access to vaccines available in the West. But due to
a lack of international aid and because of the all-powerful patents,
this was not the case. In the absence of widely supported surveillance,
screening and vaccination policies, we have to wait for epidemic
outbreaks for international responses to be timidly put in place.
And even when facing the wall, the organization stutters: at the time of
writing, the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC)
has recorded 22,000 cases and 622 deaths, but the DRC is still not
supplied with vaccines, despite the manufacturers' willingness to begin
deliveries. This is due to Kafkaesque bureaucratic procedures within the
WHO, which is blocking the supply process, despite having declared the
alert more than two weeks ago.
Health issues cannot be considered from a global perspective, and cannot
be satisfied with short-term management. It is urgent to extract them
from capitalist operations and include them in our internationalist ideals.
N. Bartosek (UCL Alsace)
For information on prevention and vaccination against Mpox:
Actupparis.org/prevention/mpox
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Mpox-Le-capitalisme-terreau-fertile-aux-epidemies
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