In 2024, there have been more than 25 000 suspected mpox cases and 723 deaths in Africa, mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the World Health Organization, which has declared the outbreak a global health emergency.

Gavi, a public-private alliance which co-funds vaccine purchases for low-income countries, said it will spend up to $50 million on the plan, which includes the transportation, delivery and costs of administering the vaccines. The doses are due to be delivered this year.

Around 3.6 million doses of mpox vaccine have already been pledged to the DRC by rich nations which have stockpiles, the World Health Organization has said, but only a small portion has arrived so far. The WHO approved the vaccine for use on Friday last week.

Gavi's purchase, using a new facility set up after the COVID-19 pandemic to respond quickly to public health emergencies, could speed up the response in Congo and other affected countries.

The $50 million investment suggests a price of around $100 per vaccine, lower than previous estimates. It could be lower still as the money includes funding for the storage and roll-out. The actual price was not disclosed.

In a camp for people displaced by floods in Nigeria's Borno state, Bintu Amadu is among hundreds of people who have been waiting for hours to see a doctor.

Gavi Chief Executive Sania Nishtar said the priority was working with partners "to turn these vaccines into vaccinations as quickly and effectively as possible and, over time, to build a global vaccine stockpile."

Mpox, which spreads through close contact and typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, has been a public health problem in parts of Africa for decades. But vaccines have never previously been available outside clinical trials in affected countries in Africa, even after a different strain of the virus spread globally in 2022 and high-income countries used vaccines to help stem the outbreak.

--Reuters—