The European Commission and its Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) have announced a significant delivery of 215,000 mpox vaccine doses to Africa, part of a larger commitment to aid in controlling the ongoing outbreaks. Congolese authorities have confirmed an additional 100,000 doses are expected to arrive on Saturday, bolstering the region’s fight against the disease.
UNICEF has been tasked with managing the vaccination campaign in the most affected provinces, according to Congo’s Health Minister, Roger Kamba. However, the start date for this critical campaign remains uncertain.
Western partners, including the European Union and the United States, have pledged around 380,000 doses of mpox vaccines. Despite these efforts, this number represents less than 15% of the three million doses that officials estimate are needed to effectively control the outbreaks in Congo, which is the epicenter of this global health crisis.
The EU shipment, marked with its flag, arrived in Kinshasa on September 5, 2024. This delivery includes the MVA-BN vaccine, which has been previously utilized in Europe and the United States and is currently authorized for use in adults. The European Medicines Agency is reviewing additional data to potentially approve the vaccine for children aged 12 to 17 by the end of the month.
Despite the rapid response from wealthier nations following the 2022 global mpox outbreak, only a fraction of vaccines have reached Africa. The situation remains dire, with over 22,800 reported mpox cases and 622 deaths across the continent. The majority of these cases are concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the new mpox variant was first identified. Notably, many of the infections are occurring in children under 15.
In a recent development, the U.S. has donated 10,000 doses of mpox vaccines to Nigeria, marking the first known vaccine donation to Africa since the outbreak began. Nigeria has reported 40 cases of mpox this year.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, had been largely unnoticed in Africa for years before the 2022 outbreak spread to over 70 countries, according to Dr. Dimie Ogoina, chair of WHO’s mpox emergency committee. The urgency of the current situation underscores the need for continued international support and swift action to curb the spread of this disease.
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