In 2022, the virus mpox was declared a public health emergency of international concern. From October 2022 to February 2023, a research team from the UK and Nigeria studied the recent story of mpox in Nigeria, and what it could mean for responses in other countries and across national borders. The wider lessons are documented in a comic illustrated by Tim Zocco, produced in collaboration with the research team.
Multimedia
Mpox in Nigeria – lessons from diverse experiences
See also
Report
Roundtable Report: Discussion on mpox in DRC and social science considerations for operational response
This report synthesises the discussions at a SSHAP-organised roundtable on the mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo held in May 2024 to appraise the situation, with a focus on social science insights for informing context-sensitive risk communication…
Central and East Africa Hub
SSHAP
2024

Briefing
Mpox, mining, and vulnerabilities of women and children in eastern DRC
This Key Considerations brief presents considerations for contextualising and responding to the mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, focusing on women and children living and working in artisanal and small-scale mining areas.
Central and East Africa Hub
2024
Report
Meeting report: Mpox and discrimination in African settings
This report summarises contributions from speakers and participants at a Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP)-organised online meeting to discuss mpox and discrimination issues in African settings, and operational responses to mpox that are contextually sensitive.
Central and East Africa Hub
SSHAP
2024
Research paper
Infrastructures of epidemic response: mpox and everyday repair work in southwestern Nigeria
This paper examines community-based surveillance and primary health care as intersecting infrastructures to draw learning from lived experiences of mpox and the response to the mpox outbreak in southwestern Nigeria during 2022-23.
West Africa Hub
Social Science & Medicine
2024
Research paper
Mpox and the men who have sex with men (MSM) community in Nigeria: Exploratory insights from MSM and persons providing healthcare services to them
This paper explores mpox awareness, knowledge, and experiences among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Lagos, Nigeria, to provides insights to improve Nigeria's mpox response and inform similar public health efforts in Africa where MSM criminalisation complicates MSM…
West Africa Hub
Global Public Health
2025
Research paper
Diagnosis, treatment, and management of mpox in urban informal settlements in southwestern Nigeria: an ethnographic approach
This paper, based on an ethnographic study in southwestern Nigeria, seeks to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of not only the health care access barriers, but the complex geographical, economic, and sociocultural factors that shape how and when people…
West Africa Hub
BMC Public Health
2025
Briefing
Supporting the mpox response for people with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression in contexts where their rights are restricted
This brief provides a socio-behavioural analysis of the vulnerabilities, risks and operational key considerations for working with people with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression in the mpox response.
SSHAP
2025
Related content
Evidence review
Rapid evidence synthesis: Mpox community protection
This note presents a rapid synthesis of evidence related to community protection in countries affected by the mpox clade 1b outbreak. Synthesising evidence related to community protection for mpox Medline, Africa Journals Online and Global Index Medicus were searched. IFRC,…
SSHAP
2025
Report
Meeting report: The impact of global aid funding cuts on people and programmes in South Sudan
Report of a roundtable with government actors, academics, development partners and journalists in South Sudan on the sweeping impacts on people and programmes of aid cuts and multiple, intersecting crises.
Central and East Africa Hub
SSHAP
2025
Briefing
Key considerations: Home-based care for mpox in Central and East Africa
This brief outlines key considerations on health system requirements for safe and inclusive home-based care for mpox.
Central and East Africa Hub
SSHAP
2025
Question Bank
Tools
Questions bank for healthcare workers during infectious disease outbreaks
This question bank is a menu of qualitative questions related to healthcare workers’ knowledge, perceptions and practices during infectious disease outbreaks.
SSHAP
2025