Research Snapshot: Rapid assessments for community protection for mpox

These operational studies generated, within weeks, rapid community evidence that shaped the mpox emergency response, and produced a new interagency protocol for conducting ethical, highquality community assessments for future health emergencies.

Evidence shapes mpox response and strengthens community evidence systems   During the mpox Public Health Emergency of International Concern (2024-2025) national teams led rapid assessments in Tshopo province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and four counties in Liberia. These studies generated evidence on how communities understood mpox, accessed care and experienced impacts of the outbreak. Co-developed recommendations informed response actions affecting an estimated 5.6 million people across both contexts. These operational studies advanced the use of social and behavioural science by field-testing a new multihazard protocol for rapid assessments for community protection, approved by the WHO headquarters Research Ethics Committee.

This snapshot contains key messages, findings, implications for humanitarian policymakers and practitioners and recommendations for further research.