Sierra Leone declares end of Mpox outbreak but survivors face discrimination

Sierra Leone declared its Mpox epidemic over, after two years of a health emergency that witnessed over 5,000 cases and 60 fatalities in the country.

The announcement comes almost a year since Sierra Leone declared the Mpox emergency after two cases of the virus were confirmed outside the capital Freetown.

But survivors remain stigmatized by their society and unable to move on with their lives.

Even after recovery, survivors of Mpox say they face widespread stigma and discrimination. Many report being rejected by their families, losing jobs, and struggling to reintegrate into their communities, largely due to misinformation, fear, and mistrust of public health messages.

Nelson Johnson, who recovered in May, started raising awareness with the Sierra Leone Epidemic Action Network in June, hoping to combat stigma faced by survivors.

He says that advocacy against misinformation is the first step toward ending the stigma.

"[They think] it is because maybe the person is being cursed, [or] it is because the person has a lot of boyfriends, [or that] Mpox is not real, or this Mpox is just chicken pox. So you find out people are not ready to accept it, unless when we decide to go to the community, and explain to them, that I have been affected, I’m now a survivor. It doesn’t mean that I can infect you. So that is the only way people start believing that Mpox is real.”

Hannah Abibu is another Mpox survivor:

“Things are not easy for me. Even a place to sleep, I don’t have. Food to eat, I don’t have. At my workplace, when they knew I had Mpox, they didn’t allow me to return. Up till now, I’m searching for a job. It’s not easy for my life.”

Recovery

Of the more than 5,000 people who were infected during the recent outbreak, 99 percent recovered. But, says Dr. John Abu Bakarr Conteh, of the FCC Mpox Treatment Center, they still need help:

“This response is not only focusing on case management. You find out that other pillars were involved in this response. We have the psychosocial, you know, we had also the, you know, logistical aspects, security, but the psychosocial case management were paramount. And we try to make sure that we have all that is needed, you know, to combat the epidemic, the pox.”

The epidemic was also unique in Sierra Leone due to the rare cases of genital lesions seen in many victims, which drove stigma and made it hard to fight to break the chain of transmission.

Mpox, previously known as Monkey, is a zoonotic disease that is transmitted from infected animals to humans and from person to person.