The global vaccine alliance Gavi has announced the purchase of 500,000 doses of the mpox vaccine to combat outbreaks of the disease in African countries. The doses, produced by Danish company Bavarian Nordic, will be available this year, although specific dates have not been provided by Gavi. The total cost of $50 million, which includes transportation, delivery, and administration of the doses, will be covered by Gavi’s First Response Fund, a new financial mechanism established in June 2024.
Since the start of the year, over 25,000 confirmed cases of mpox and 723 related deaths have been reported, mainly in Congo, leading the World Health Organization to declare it a global health emergency. Congo, at the center of this emergency, has so far only received 250,000 vaccine doses donated by the European Union and the United States, a fraction of the 3 million doses needed to halt the mpox outbreak in the country. Despite pledges from EU countries to donate over 500,000 additional doses, the delivery timeline remains uncertain.
Congo has granted emergency approval for the use of the mpox vaccine, previously administered in Europe and the United States. The vaccination campaign will prioritize adults in the most affected provinces, Equateur, South Kivu, and Sankuru, commencing on October 2. Initially, the vaccination will be limited to adults, with a focus on individuals in close contact with infected persons and sex workers, as stated by Cris Kacita Osako, coordinator of Congo’s Monkeypox Response Committee.
Gavi’s announcement follows the World Health Organization granting its first authorization for the use of the mpox vaccine in adults, marking a significant advancement in combating the disease in Africa. This authorization enables organizations like Gavi and UNICEF to procure the vaccine, although supply is constrained due to only one manufacturer currently producing it. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized the importance of this authorization in fighting the disease both in current African outbreaks and in the future.
Recently, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization initiated a comprehensive response plan across the continent to address the mpox outbreak, responding to WHO’s declaration of outbreaks in 12 African countries as a global emergency three weeks ago.
