EU Urges Member States to Donate MPOX Vaccines to Africa

On August 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a new global health emergency due to a rapidly spreading mpox outbreak in Africa, which has resulted in over 18,000 cases and 541 fatalities. In response, the European Commission has urged EU member states to indicate their willingness to donate mpox vaccines to Africa by the end of August. EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides emphasized the importance of supporting Africa in managing the virus through a coordinated donation effort. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has reported a pressing need for 10 million vaccines to effectively control the outbreak. During the previous mpox outbreak in 2022, the European Commission had contracted Danish manufacturer Bavarian Nordic for over 2 million doses, which were distributed among EU countries. However, many member states still possess significant stockpiles of these vaccines, and the decision to donate rests with individual governments. To streamline the donation process, the Commission is seeking to leverage its Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) to coordinate contributions from these stockpiles. Kyriakides highlighted the effectiveness of a unified approach, similar to the one used during the COVID-19 pandemic, in maximizing the impact of European donations. France has already committed to donating 100,000 vaccines to Africa, while HERA has agreed to provide an additional 215,000 doses to the Africa CDC. Countries are encouraged to procure and donate vaccines secured under HERA's previous agreements, further bolstering the response to the ongoing health crisis.