Rich Nations Urged to Donate Mpox Vaccines for Africa’s Crisis

The global spotlight is turning toward the world’s wealthiest nations as the COVID-19 pandemic’s aftershock continues to ripple across the healthcare landscape, this time with the urgent need for mpox vaccines in Africa. As public health experts emphasize, the scarcity of these critical vaccine doses underscores not just a technical issue, but a political challenge that needs immediate attention.

Rich nations like Japan, the United States, and Canada have been safeguarding millions of mpox vaccine doses, initially stockpiled out of a precautionary measure against a possible resurgence of smallpox. However, Africa, currently grappling with its largest mpox outbreak originated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, finds its healthcare resources stretched thin with fewer than four million doses donated out of the 18 to 22 million required.

Maria Van Kerkhove of the World Health Organisation and Cris Kacita, heading Congo’s mpox response, have been vocal about the pressing need for vaccine donations. The urgency is compounded by the emergence of the clade Ib strain, particularly harmful to children and individuals with compromised immune systems like those living with HIV.

Inaction on the mpox front could exacerbate what is already a burgeoning healthcare crisis spanning 14 African nations, with over 37,500 reported infections and 1,451 fatalities. The efforts to commence a vaccination drive in Congo, using a mere 265,000 pledged doses, are hampered by delays in regulatory procedures and financial constraints that make the high costs of vaccines prohibitive.

Part of the solution lies with the three WHO-recommended vaccines: Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos, KM Biologics’ LC16, and Emergent BioSolutions’ ACAM2000, with countries like Japan holding more than 200 million doses of LC16. Still, discussions for tangible delivery of these vaccines remain ongoing, as seen with Congo’s negotiations for 3.5 million LC16 doses from Japan.

Despite these challenges, the vaccines sit unused globally, highlighting a stark divide in vaccine access. Some, like Spain, have stepped up, pledging 20% of their vaccine stockpile, urging others in the European Union to do the same. The European Commission has also taken measures to support efforts in Congo with vaccine purchases.

But as Peter Maybarduk from the US consumer group Public Citizen points out, ignoring viral threats can endanger global health. Transparent and coordinated international cooperation is essential, as lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic remind us, to prevent mpox from becoming another global scourge.