Director general calls on men who have sex with men to make ‘safe choices’ amid global emergency
The head of the World Health Organization has advised men at risk of catching monkeypox to consider reducing how many sexual partners they have “for the moment”, after the UN agency declared escalating outbreaks in multiple countries to be a global emergency.
The WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said 98% of the monkeypox cases detected since the outbreaks emerged in May had been among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. He called for those at risk to take steps to protect themselves.
“That means making safe choices for yourself and others, for men who have sex with men,” Tedros said. “This includes, for the moment, reducing your number of sexual partners.”
