The USAID- and PEPFAR-supported EpiC project hosted a webinar in a series on topics related to HIV prevention, care, and treatment for key populations—sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people, and people who inject drugs.

The recent surge in globally reported cases of monkeypox throughout countries where the disease is not endemic has caused the World Health Organization to declare the virus a public health emergency of international concern. Most reported cases have been identified through sexual health or other health services in primary or secondary health-care facilities, and have involved mainly, but not exclusively, gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. There is an urgent need to identify and rapidly scale-up strategies to address monkeypox and integrate these strategies into HIV programs.

This webinar provides an update on USAID’s response to the global outbreak of monkeypox; reviews the clinical and epidemiological aspects of the virus; discusses effective social and behavioral change activities for monkeypox; shares current monkeypox surveillance activities; explores the concerns of key population members related to monkeypox and how to avoid stigmatizing communities most affected by the virus; and highlights implications for HIV programs.

Access the recording here. Individual presentations can be viewed below:

• Overview of the clinical and epidemiological aspects of monkeypox (Stefan Baral, Director, Key Populations Program and Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
• USAID’s response to the global monkeypox outbreak (Deborah Goldstein, Medical Officer, USAID Office of HIV/AIDS)
• Key considerations and resources for risk communication and community engagement (Brian Pederson, Social and Behavior Change Senior Technical Advisor, FHI 360)
• Laboratory Diagnosis of Monkeypox (Pat Sadate-Ngatchou, FHI 360)
• Battlefields of Queer Sex: Mokeypox, Stigma, and Social Justice (Alex Garner, MPact Global)
• Monkeypox and HIV: Considerations for HIV Programs (Chris Akolo, FHI 360)