The WHO has decided to issue its highest alert to deal with the current outbreak of monkeypox.But who decides this measure, what does it mean and what happens next?The World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Saturday (23.07.2022) the global outbreak of monkeypox as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), as announced by Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghrebeyesus, who made the decision despite a lack of consensus among members of the WHO emergency committee.It is the first time that a leader of a UN health agency has made this decision.Tedros noted that "we have an outbreak that has spread rapidly around the world through new modes of transmission that we know very little about."He added: "Although I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern, at the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners. That means that it can be stopped with the strategies correct".The current outbreak began in May, with 20 cases recorded in Britain on May 20, mainly among gay men.Since then, the contagion has grown to almost 14,000 cases as of July 20, concentrating in Europe, according to the WHO.Since July 14, Thailand, Serbia, Georgia, India and Saudi Arabia have reported their first cases, adding to the 72 countries where the current outbreak has been detected.The designation of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is WHO's highest alert level.It is based on the international health standards established in 2005, to define the rights and obligations of countries in the management of transboundary public health events.The WHO defines a PHEIC as "an extraordinary event that constitutes a risk to the public health of other States through the international spread of disease and that potentially requires a coordinated response."The WHO emergency committee on monkeypox provided the recommendation to the WHO director-general.He then made a final determination based on his advice.In this particular case, the committee is made up of 16 members and is chaired by Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the agency's former director of vaccines and immunization.The purpose of a PHEIC is to focus attention on the acute health risks that certain diseases have of spreading internationally and threatening people around the world.Its goal is to help mobilize and coordinate information and resources, both nationally and internationally, for prevention and response purposes.In practice, it may end up causing a financial burden for the country facing the epidemic.In the case of COVID-19, for example, an international emergency was only declared in late January 2020. Researchers have found that too many countries take a "wait and see" approach to such measures, ignoring them until it's too late. late, as happened with COVID-19."WHO will continue to do everything possible to help countries stop transmission and save lives," Tedros said. For this, testing and vaccination are useful tools in the fight against monkeypox, although Tedros also said that information was key.First, public health officials need to engage constructively with at-risk communities, experts say.The comments made are the sole responsibility of their authors and the consequences derived from them may be subject to the corresponding legal sanctions.Avoid offensive comments or comments that do not respond to the topic addressed in the information.