PRETORIA: Several countries have committed to donate mpox vaccine doses to help tackle the disease outbreak in Africa, following the World Health Organization’s declaration of a global public health emergency for the second time in two years.
These donations aim to address the significant inequity that left African nations without access to vaccines during the 2022 global outbreak. Canada has pledged up to 200,000 doses, with the final amount depending on the receiving countries’ storage and administration capabilities. France will donate 100,000 doses based on “locally identified needs,” according to its health ministry’s website, last updated on September 6.
Germany has committed to donating 100,000 doses from its military reserves to help control the outbreak in the short term, a government spokesperson said on August 26. The Democratic Republic of Congo requested Japan to donate at least 2 million doses, as reported by a senior official at Africa’s top public health body and a Congolese official on August 27. Japan had previously indicated that Congo had made a request but did not specify the number.
Spain will donate 500,000 doses, or 20% of its stockpile, its health ministry said. Additionally, Spain has urged the European Commission to propose that all EU member states donate 20% of their respective vaccine stockpiles.
On August 22, the US State Department announced it would donate 50,000 doses of Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine to the Democratic Republic of Congo, along with financial support for distribution. The US Agency for International Development also stated that it would donate 10,000 doses to Nigeria.
The EU has pledged to distribute 215,000 doses to affected African countries through its joint procurement contract with Bavarian Nordic. The EU has also encouraged its members to coordinate their donations. In August, the EU’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) agreed to procure 175,420 doses from Bavarian Nordic and donate them to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with an additional 40,000 doses donated by the Danish company.
