As the world seemingly recovers from the severe aftermath of the Covid-19 menace, a new health threat is emerging – Mpox.
Most recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mpox (formerly Monkeypox) a global health emergency. While this virus has existed for decades, the sudden surge in cases across various regions has prompted widespread concern.
As of today, Kenya has reported its first confirmed case of Mpox caused by a deadly strain only seen in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this is according to WHO, which noted the strain to be the deadliest so far. Despite this, the question remains: Is Kenya truly prepared to handle yet another global health emergency? The short answer is no.
Despite the hard lessons learned from Covid-19, our country is still lagging. The exposed the critical gaps in our healthcare system, and unfortunately, little progress has been made to rectify those shortcomings. The health sector is fragile, and the advent of Mpox may exacerbate our vulnerabilities.
Kenya has never dealt with Mpox before. The lack of prior experience with this disease creates an enormous challenge for our healthcare system. Unlike diseases such as malaria or tuberculosis, which healthcare workers are familiar with, Mpox presents new diagnostic and treatment complexities.
Even though Mpox shares some clinical similarities with smallpox, healthcare providers have no extensive history or protocols established for dealing with it.
This gap in experience leads to delayed detection and diagnosis, which in turn hinders timely containment measures. With little or no guidance on what to expect, medical practitioners are working in the dark. The Ministry of Health must step up by rapidly providing clear, detailed, and practical guidelines for handling Mpox in hospitals, clinics, public places and the broader community.
One of the most significant challenges we faced during the Covid-19 was lack of proper and effective communication from health authorities. Unfortunately, we seem to be repeating the same mistakes.
Despite the WHO’s declaration and Kenya’s confirmed case of Mpox, there has been little information shared with the public. There is a critical lack of educational campaigns on how to prevent transmission, identify symptoms, or seek medical attention.
Effective communication is the cornerstone of public health preparedness. It’s crucial for the Ministry of Health to disseminate timely, accurate information, particularly in rural areas where healthcare access is limited. Misinformation and ignorance can easily stoke fear and lead to stigmatisation of those infected, as we saw with Covid-19. Therefore, the government must prioritise public awareness campaigns in order to ready the country for any possible outbreak.
The Kenyan healthcare system is already stretched to its limits. Even before Covid-19, many hospitals and clinics faced chronic shortages of personnel, equipment, and supplies. During the pandemic, our health facilities struggled with insufficient ICU beds, ventilators, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Now, as we face the threat of Mpox, these same capacity constraints persist.
Perhaps also, one of the most pressing concerns is the lack of proper systems to detect, screen, track, and manage the spread of infectious diseases such as Mpox. Kenya has struggled with establishing robust surveillance systems that can quickly identify outbreaks.
The health infrastructure in Kenya is not resilient enough to withstand multiple simultaneous crises. If Mpox cases begin to rise, we risk overwhelming our hospitals and clinics, just as we saw with the last global pandemic.
Without sufficient testing capacity, treatment facilities, and isolation wards, containing Mpox may be a herculean task. The Ministry of Health must act swiftly and decisively. We need comprehensive guidelines for managing Mpox in healthcare settings. There must be better communication strategies to educate the public, ensuring that people are informed and able to take preventive measures.
The government must invest in increasing healthcare capacity, including training more healthcare workers, strengthening laboratory networks, and ensuring that our health infrastructure can withstand the pressures of another health emergency.
Finally, the government should heavily consider implementing concerted efforts in this fight by involving the private and religious sector in information dissemination to the public.
For example, having an integrated fact sheet on Mpox read out in places of worship, placement of the facts on screens in all hospitals in the country, posters printed out and placed on institutions’ notice boards as well as digital posters circulated on all medical platforms as part of CSR by all businesses.
As a country, we cannot afford to be caught off guard again. The time to act is now, before Mpox becomes yet another tragic chapter in our nation's public health history.
Dr Thenya is the founder and CEO of Nairobi Women’s Hospital
