Monkeypox: information for Pride organisers

Monkeypox is a viral disease most commonly found in central and west Africa. In May 2022 cases were detected in Europe.

Media reporting of the outbreaks of monkeypox in Europe has focused heavily on LGBTI+ events that it was claimed had been vector events leading to a number of infections. This has given opportunities to those who oppose Pride events, and some have used monkeypox to call for Pride events to be cancelled.

We refer Pride organisers to the guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) with whom we are in contact. They have published extensive guidance on monkeypox and are not recommending that plans for major events are cancelled or curtailed – indeed the WHO have specifically said that Prides should not be affected and people should attend them as usual.

We recommend that Pride organisations share public health messaging that if people are experiencing symptoms, they should isolate. We also recommend following the guidance of your national public health body if appropriate. We are working with World Health Organisation to develop a toolkit for Pride organisers and we will publish this as soon as possible.

Resources

Good practice examples

 

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