Promised 'Monkeypox' Vaccines Have Not Arrived in African Countries

The British newspaper The Guardian reports that none of the African countries affected by the outbreak of the new strain of the monkeypox virus have received the promised vaccines. According to the report, various countries including Spain promised to deliver 500,000 vaccines, France and Germany each promised 100,000 doses, and the United States pledged 50,000 doses, but none of these promises have been fulfilled so far. Meanwhile, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, announced on Friday, September 9, that the first doses of the vaccine should arrive in Congo 'in the coming days.' The Democratic Republic of Congo is at the center of the outbreak of a new strain of this monkeypox called Clade 1b, and according to the World Health Organization, 18,000 suspected cases and 629 deaths have been recorded in this country this year. This type of virus has also been found in Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Sweden, and Thailand. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Wednesday, September 7, that of the $245 million requested to combat this outbreak, only 10% has been secured. Despite the fact that monkeypox, previously known as monkeypox, was first identified in humans in Congo in 1970, African countries at risk of outbreaks remain dependent on vaccine donations from wealthy countries. Dimi Oguina, an infectious disease specialist at the Delta State University Teaching Hospital and head of the monkeypox emergency committee at the World Health Organization, stated, 'Ignoring this disease at the international level and also by African governments has resulted in decades after the first case of monkeypox was identified, there are still no adequate vaccines or even treatments available in the affected countries.' According to this infectious disease specialist, in 2022, during the global outbreak when the virus spread to Europe and North America, there was a broader international response to this disease. He emphasized that African countries should invest in their own protection against diseases like monkeypox so that they are not dependent on donor countries. In mid-August 2024, when the new strain of monkeypox 'Clade 1b' was identified and spread, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency. This virus spreads through close physical contact, including sexual contact, as well as close contacts within families. The World Health Organization has warned of an increase in the mortality rate of children under 15 infected with the monkeypox virus by up to eight percent, which has raised serious concerns. The latest report published by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the number of monkeypox cases has significantly increased in the past week, with new cases rising from 1,200 a week earlier to about 4,000. This significant increase indicates the rapid spread of the monkeypox virus in Africa. Last week, civil society groups published a letter to 'Gavi', the Global Vaccine Alliance, requesting that it work to reduce the price of the vaccine produced by Bavarian Nordic, which currently costs between $50 and $75 per dose.