This Vila Health Disaster Recovery Plan will address the potential threat of the Monkeypox (MPX) outbreak in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area. MPX is an infectious disease characterized by fever, intoxication, and exanthema. Outbreaks of MPX in the US have occurred before, such as in 2003, and a global epidemic of the virus occurred in 2022 (Lee & Morling, 2022). The virus is transmitted from infected animals and from person to person through bodily fluids and infected materials (Lee & Morling, 2022). Health workers are advised to have a complete set of protective equipment when caring for an infected person, as these are contagious before the rash is completely gone. MPX is especially dangerous for the elderly, poor people, homeless, pregnant women and people with chronic diseases (Lee & Morling, 2022).

Vila Health Community Needs Assessment

Charlotte is a large city of 874000 people with metropolitan and suburban areas (Charlotte, NC). In Charlotte, 11.9% of the population is defined as poor, and 44.5% of poverty is blacks and women aged 25-34 (Charlotte, NC). These categories, together with pregnant women, the disabled, and people with chronic diseases, are at risk for the MXP outbreak (Lee & Morling, 2022). The advantage of Charlotte is the low percentage of people who do not speak English. Even migrant, Asian, and Mexican households use English as their primary language of communication (Charlotte, NC).

Healthy People 2020 goals and 2030 objectives

To create a Vila plan, you must build on the Healthy People 2020 and 2030 frameworks and the MAP-IT strategy. Healthy People 2020 and 2030 are roadmaps or frameworks to improve population health across the country and prevent disease. They define healthcare priorities for the coming decades based on the current situation and current scientific evidence (Ochiai et al., 2021). Healthy People 2030 differs from the previous version in greater sophistication – the number of topic areas and objects has been reduced, and intersecting and repetitive items have been removed.

Healthy People 2030 involves creating and funding programs in four main areas and promoting healthy lifestyles and well-being across the lifespan (Ochiai et al., 2021). Another important goal is achieving health equity through social programs, charity support, literacy, and increasing knowledge and action by activating leadership (Ochiai et al., 2021).

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Thus, Healthy People 2030 encourages the creation of preventive education programs on hygiene and other precautions in case of a possible MPX outbreak. Moreover, hospitals and other government agencies should be informed about what to do if the virus spreads, as rapid diagnosis and isolation of infected people are key (Lee & Morling, 2022). MPX can leave severe consequences in the form of scars and systemic body damage. Therefore, poor population categories need additional support with vitamins, supportive therapy, proper nutrition, and physiotherapy.

Improving Health Equity

The catastrophe situation exacerbates existing inequalities in terms of health and access to medical care. Vulnerable categories of the population are the disabled, the homeless, migrants, the poor, and the elderly. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defines persons with special needs as those who require additional assistance during disasters, such as assistance with transportation, medication, supervision, and English translation (Windsor, 2021). The first risk group is pregnant women, people with disability, and chronic diseases. Hospitals should have a date, inform them of the danger, and test for the virus. Other government agencies, such as schools and universities that have data on people with disabilities, should inform them of the dangers, precautions to take, and contacts for seeking help.

MAP-IT (Mobilize, Assess, Plan, Implement, Track) framework

The MAP-IT framework is based on the Health People 2020 and 2030 initiatives and is used for disaster recovery in the event of disasters. This diagram describes a step-by-step path of actions to be taken in the event of an emergency.

The plan’s first step is to mobilize all stakeholders, including authorities, hospitals, fire departments, police, and citizens. It is also necessary to prepare protocols of interaction and subordination for all participants in advance (Schoenherr et al., 2022). The next step is to assess the situation to minimize damage and optimize costs. An outbreak of monkeypox will require rapid vaccination of people at risk, as well as additional funds for medical staff and volun