Scientists and activists attending the AIDS 2022 conference in Montreal on Sunday urged governments around the world to allocate more resources to fight the monkeypox epidemic.
International experts had met earlier in the day to discuss the need to avoid repeating the mistakes made when HIV arrived.
Dr Meg Doherty, director of HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections programs at the World Health Organization, told reporters that an equitable approach is crucial to ensure tools are available not only in wealthier countries, but also in Africa, where monkeypox is traditionally present.
More than 19,000 cases of the disease have been reported in recent months in 78 countries, mostly among men who have sex with men. 803 of these cases have been recorded in Canada as of July 29.
Keletso Makofane, a public health researcher at Harvard University, called the global response “worse than the initial response to HIV”, saying there is already enough information about the virus to contain it.
Meanwhile, Professor Marina Klein, director of research in the division of infectious diseases and the service of chronic viral diseases at McGill University, argued that more studies were needed to understand the extent of transmission of disease.
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