Anti-Black racism shaped Canada's public health response to the 2022 mpox outbreak by delaying targeted interventions for Black gay, bisexual, and queer men and reflecting colonial narratives that framed Blackness as a source of contagion.
Key Findings
Background
Racialized and sexualized stigma influenced public discourse during the 2022 mpox outbreak in Canada and delayed targeted interventions for Black gay, bisexual, and queer men (GBQM).
The commentary draws on critical public health frameworks to interrogate how stigma operated during the outbreak.
Black GBQM are identified as a population specifically affected by the intersection of racialized and sexualized stigma.
The delay in targeted interventions is attributed in part to the influence of stigma on public health decision-making.
Background
Colonial narratives framed Blackness as a source of contagion during the mpox outbreak.
The authors use critical public health frameworks to analyze how colonial narratives shaped public discourse.
The framing of Blackness as contagious is identified as a recurring historical pattern reproduced during the 2022 outbreak.
This narrative is connected to broader structures of anti-Black racism embedded in public health institutions.
Background
Public health institutions were slow to respond to mpox until the outbreak appeared in the Global North, reflecting a pattern where outbreaks are not treated as urgent until they affect predominantly white or Western populations.
Mpox had been circulating in African countries prior to its emergence in the Global North in 2022.
The authors identify a 'pervasive assumption that infectious disease originates and circulates primarily in the racialized geographies of the Global South.'
This delayed response is characterized as a systemic pattern in global health rather than an isolated incident.
Conclusions
Canada's public health infrastructure is called upon to center Black lives in epidemic responses and adopt inclusive, anti-oppressive approaches.
The commentary calls for transformation of public health infrastructure in Canada.
Specific recommendations include integrating 'robust education on Black health through community-engaged expertise.'
The authors advocate for 'inclusive, anti-oppressive approaches' as part of institutional reform.
Conclusions
Canada's ties to global migration and diasporic communities underscore the need for timely, globally informed responses to infectious diseases that resist colonial hierarchies.
The authors highlight Canada's 'deep ties to global migration and diasporic communities' as context for the argument.
Colonial hierarchies are described as having 'long treated Black and other racialized lives as less worthy of protection and care.'
Timely and globally informed responses are presented as necessary to address these structural inequities.
What This Means
This commentary examines how racism — specifically anti-Black racism — affected Canada's public health response to the 2022 mpox outbreak. The authors argue that longstanding colonial ideas that associate Blackness with disease and contagion resurfaced during the outbreak, influencing how public health officials, media, and institutions talked about and responded to mpox. Black gay, bisexual, and queer men were particularly affected by this stigma, and targeted support for this group was delayed as a result.
The authors also point to a broader global pattern: mpox had been affecting communities in African countries for years before it spread to Canada and other Western nations, yet it was only treated as an urgent crisis once it appeared in predominantly white or Western populations. This disparity, the authors argue, reflects a deep-rooted assumption in global health that diseases from the Global South are less worthy of immediate attention and resources.
This research suggests that Canada's public health system needs significant reform to address these structural inequities. The authors call for public health responses that place Black communities at the center, incorporate education on Black health informed by community expertise, and actively resist colonial and racist frameworks. Given that Canada is home to many communities with ties to countries around the world, the authors argue that public health responses must be both globally aware and free from the racial hierarchies that have historically led to unequal protection for Black and racialized people.
Cornel Grey, J. Sinno, Mackenzie Stewart, Oghenetega Ubor, M. Numer, Devan Nambiar, et al.. (2026). Anti-Black racism continues to undercut public health and pandemic response: A commentary on the mpox response in Canada.. Canadian journal of public health. https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-026-01207-9