Responding to the global mpox outbreak: ethics issues and considerations: a policy brief, 19 July 2023

Overview

In order to fulfill the strategic aim of stopping the global mpox outbreak and eliminating human-to-human transmission of this emerging disease, the global response must address related ethics issues,  in particular for preventing new outbreaks and protecting people at risk of severe disease. The ethics considerations must be contextualized to the specific features of this outbreak in each location, such as the disproportionate risks of infection and severe disease in marginalized groups and for persons who are immunocompromised, and the still limited access to safe, effective vaccines and antiviral therapeutics.

Established ethics principles in outbreak response are: justice, beneficence, utility, respect for persons, liberty, reciprocity and solidarity. This policy brief provides guidance on key ethics issues that have emerged in the context of the global mpox outbreak and its response, primarily: (i) stigma and discrimination, (ii) equitable access to interventions and (iii) action in the face of uncertainty.