Congo Receives Key Support in Mpox Vaccine Fight

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will soon receive its first doses of an mpox vaccine, following assistance from the United States and Japan. The World Health Organization has declared mpox a global public health emergency. Both countries have pledged support to help combat the outbreak in Africa.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is set to receive its first doses of the mpox vaccine next week. This follows pledges from the United States and Japan to assist the country in curbing its mpox outbreak, according to Congolese health minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba.

The World Health Organization last week reclassified mpox as a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, in light of a rapidly spreading new variant, clade Ib, in Africa. At a news conference, Health Minister Mulamba stated that the United States and Japan had pledged vaccines to Congo.

'We've concluded discussions with USAID and the U.S. government... I am hopeful that the vaccines will arrive by next week,' Mulamba told reporters. These vaccine deliveries aim to address significant inequities, where African nations have had no access to the two available shots, which were readily available in Europe and the U.S. during the 2022 global outbreak.

Additionally, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on Monday that it is preparing to provide Congo with mpox vaccines and needles, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and other partners. According to Masano Tsuzuki, section chief of Japan's division of infectious disease prevention and control, the ministry 'intends to provide as much support as possible.'

KM Biologics in Japan is a manufacturer of one of the mpox vaccines, while Denmark’s Bavarian Nordic produces another called Jynneos. Both vaccines have been unavailable in Congo and across Africa outside of clinical trials, despite the disease being endemic for decades.

The global vaccine alliance, Gavi, recently announced it has up to $500 million allocated to supply vaccines to countries affected by Africa's escalating mpox outbreak. 'Gavi has offered to make the vaccines available, and we agreed,' said Congo's health minister.

Mpox is a viral infection causing pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms, usually mild but potentially fatal. Congo is currently dealing with two strains of the virus: the endemic clade I and the new clade Ib. Mpox spreads through close physical contact, including sexual contact, but unlike previous pandemics such as COVID-19, there is no evidence it spreads easily through the air.