The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has initiated an emergency tender to procure mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, vaccines for the worst-affected countries.
It follows the recent surge in cases of the viral illness across multiple African nations, which led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare mpox a public health emergency of international concern, similar to how it approached Covid-19 in 2020.
UNICEF, in partnership with the Gavi vaccine alliance, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the Pan American Health Organization, the WHO, and other partners, made the announcement in a joint statement on Saturday.
It highlighted that, depending on manufacturers’ production capacities, agreements could be made for up to 12 million doses through 2025. The WHO is in the process of reviewing information provided by vaccine manufacturers on August 23, with the evaluation for Emergency Use Listing expected to be finalized by mid-September.
“Addressing the current mpox vaccine shortage and delivering vaccines to communities who need them now is of paramount importance,” Leila Pakkala, Director of UNICEF’s Supply Division, stated.
Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya echoed the urgency of the situation, emphasizing that timely vaccine procurement and distribution are vital for protecting vulnerable populations in the hardest-hit regions.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus also addressed the situation during a recent briefing, expressing confidence that the outbreak can be contained with coordinated efforts. “With the governments’ leadership and close cooperation between partners, we believe we can stop these outbreaks in the next six months,” Ghebreyesus stated.
Mpox was first identified as a distinct illness in 1958 among laboratory monkeys in Denmark, while the first documented cases in humans were recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Liberia and Sierra Leone. When it began spreading rapidly in late 2022, the WHO declared an emergency and renamed the disease mpox, to avoid “racist and stigmatizing language.”
The WHO has reported more than 18,000 cases of mpox and 629 deaths so far this year in the DR Congo. However, many of these cases are still classified as suspected, pending laboratory confirmation, according to WHO spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris.
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), in 2024, approximately 2,863 confirmed cases and 517 deaths from the disease have occurred across 12 African countries, including previously unaffected nations like Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.