World Health Organization · 2025 · 5 pages
WHO framework for IPC and WASH interventions in health facilities, communities and congregate settings during mpox outbreaks.
- Issuer
- World Health Organization
- Edition
- 2025
- Audience
- Health planners, clinicians, public health professionals, IPC specialists, WASH professionals
- Evidence
- Expert consensus based on global mpox strategic preparedness and response plan
- Reviewed
- 14 Oct 2026 · GMJ
What this guideline says
GMJ summary
This executive summary presents the World Health Organization’s strategic framework for infection prevention and control (IPC) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) during mpox outbreak response. The strategy targets two major components: safe and scalable care within health-care facilities and mpox treatment centres, and enhanced community protection during home care and within high-risk congregate settings such as prisons, sex-on-premises venues, refugee and internally displaced persons camps, and schools.
The framework emphasises coordination through establishing IPC and WASH taskforces, developing costed response plans, and ensuring cross-pillar technical support across vaccination, border health/points-of-entry, and safe burials. Key actions include conducting rapid assessments using standardised tools, implementing screening and isolation strategies aligned with national referral pathways, protecting health and care workers through appropriate personal protective equipment and training, and ensuring availability of essential IPC and WASH supplies.
For community settings, the strategy recommends developing national guidance for managing uncomplicated mpox cases at home or in decentralised community isolation centres, conducting assessments in prisons and congregate settings, and promoting hand hygiene awareness. The approach prioritises halting transmission in hot spots, emphasising evidence-based interventions whilst maintaining health equity and protecting vulnerable populations throughout the response.
Key points
For clinicians — doses and thresholds as stated in the guideline
- Establish screening, identification, isolation and referral strategies for suspected and confirmed mpox cases aligned with national referral pathways
- Conduct IPC and WASH rapid assessments at priority health-care facilities using standardised tools (e.g. IPC and WASH rapid assessment tool), develop improvement plans, and re-evaluate periodically
- Implement and monitor measures to protect health and care workers and patients, including appropriate personal protective equipment and hand hygiene strategies
- Develop national strategy for managing uncomplicated mpox cases at home or in decentralised community isolation centres, particularly in settings where home isolation is not feasible (e.g. IDP camps)
- Ensure availability of essential IPC and WASH supplies, adequate facility infrastructure, equipment and information/education/communication materials for priority facilities and mpox treatment centres
- Develop IPC tools and adapt WASH assessment tools for prisons and other high-risk congregate settings (sex-on-premises venues, refugee camps, schools)
- Plan for surge capacity to safely manage increased numbers of cases whilst maintaining IPC measures and WASH services
- Establish or strengthen IPC and WASH pillar coordination mechanisms (mpox IPC and WASH taskforce) and develop costed response plans to allocate resources
From the guideline
Verbatim
“Coordination at all levels is crucial for the effective implementation of this strategy; this consists of establishing or strengthening IPC and WASH pillar coordination mechanisms.”
Editor’s perspective
Why this matters for Georgia and the region
Prof. Giorgi Pkhakadze, MD, MPH, PhD
Editor-in-Chief, Georgian Medical Journal · Chair, Public Health Institute of Georgia · WHO consultant, health and migration
As someone who has worked extensively on health emergency preparedness in the South Caucasus, I recognise that this WHO framework addresses critical gaps in our regional outbreak response capacity. The emphasis on rapid assessment tools and costed response plans is particularly important for Georgia, where we have strengthened infection prevention infrastructure through our healthcare quality improvement programmes but require specific mpox readiness protocols. The recommendation to develop strategies for congregate settings—prisons, refugee centres, educational institutions—is directly relevant given our country's role as a transit corridor and host to displaced populations. Implementation will require honest assessment of WASH infrastructure in rural health facilities and realistic planning for supply chain sustainability beyond the acute emergency phase, challenges we have navigated in previous outbreak responses including COVID-19.
ORCID 0000-0001-7609-4515 · Perspective written for the GMJ Guidelines Library, 14 Oct 2026
Applicability
Georgia and the South Caucasus
For Georgia and the South Caucasus, this framework is directly applicable given the region’s proximity to areas with documented mpox transmission and significant cross-border population movement. National health programmes would need to assess IPC and WASH readiness in priority health facilities, particularly in border regions, and adapt community guidance for local congregate settings including prisons, refugee reception centres, and educational institutions. The emphasis on resource-limited settings is relevant to rural Georgian health facilities, whilst the framework for coordination between health emergency response pillars aligns with Georgia’s existing public health emergency management structures. Implementation would require integrating mpox-specific IPC measures into the country’s broader infection prevention programmes and ensuring WASH infrastructure meets outbreak response standards, particularly in congregate settings and decentralised health facilities.
Questions this guideline answers
Quick answers
What are the two major components of the mpox IPC and WASH strategy?
The strategy focuses on (1) safe and scalable care within health-care facilities and mpox treatment centres, and (2) enhanced community protection during home care and within high-risk congregate settings such as prisons, sex-on-premises venues, refugee and IDP camps, and schools.
What tools should be used to assess health facility readiness for mpox?
The IPC and WASH rapid assessment tool (RAT) should be used at priority health-care facilities to identify gaps, develop improvement plans, guide supportive supervision and mentorship, and enable periodic re-evaluation to ensure quality improvement of services.
When should mpox cases be managed at home versus in facilities?
National strategies should be developed for managing uncomplicated mpox cases at home or in decentralised community isolation centres. In contexts like IDP camps where isolation capacity is limited and home isolation is not feasible, community isolation centres may be preferred.
What coordination mechanisms are essential for mpox IPC and WASH response?
Countries should establish or strengthen IPC and WASH pillar coordination mechanisms such as an mpox IPC and WASH taskforce, ensure coordination with other response pillars and ongoing health emergencies, and develop a costed (budgeted) IPC and WASH mpox response plan to coordinate and allocate human, financial and supply resources.
Related on GMJ
Interconnected resources
Dictionary of Public Health
GMJ News coverage
Quality & accreditation
- ASF Hospital — Standard 5 — Safety & Emergency Preparedness
- ASF Medical Transport — Standard 5 — Infection Prevention & Control
- ASF Laboratory — Standard 7 — Examination: Process & Safety
- ASF Hospital — Standard 11 — Critical Care
- ASF Medical Transport — Standard 6 — Emergency Response During Transport
Other guidelines on this topic
- Strategic actions for infection prevention and control and water, sanitation and hygiene during mpox outbreak response
- Guidelines for the management of severe dengue in intensive care units
- Recommendation on antibiotic prophylaxis during labour for vaginal birth
- Guidelines on hand hygiene in community settings
- Prevention of bloodstream infections and other infections associated with central venous catheters
- Issuer
- World Health Organization
- Type
- Guideline
- Status
- Current
- Published
- 2025-07-30
- Audience
- Health planners, clinicians, public health professionals, IPC specialists, WASH professionals
- Pages
- 5
- Licence
- CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
- Evidence
- Expert consensus based on global mpox strategic preparedness and response plan
- Record history
- Created 14 Oct 2026 · updated 14 Oct 2026 · next check Apr 2027
World Health Organization. Strategic actions for infection prevention and control and water, sanitation and hygiene during mpox outbreak response: executive summary. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2025. https://doi.org/10.2471/B09326GMJ Guidelines Library records are original summaries written by the GMJ editorial team from the issuer’s published document and reviewed by a physician. They do not replace the full guideline. The document is the copyright of its issuer and is linked, not hosted. Spotted an error or a newer edition? Tell the Guidelines Desk.
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