AA/Tunis
The Vaccine Alliance (formerly Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization/Gavi) and Bavarian Nordic, the Danish laboratory that produces the Mpox vaccine, signed an agreement on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, guaranteeing the supply of 500,000 doses of the serum to African countries.
The advance purchase agreement (APA) will be financed by Gavi’s Early Response Fund, a $500 million financial instrument created after the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure rapid access to scarce vaccines in future health emergencies, the international organization that works to ensure access to vaccines in poor countries said in a statement, Agence Ecofin reported.
“We are committed to working with relevant governments and our partners […] to build a global stockpile of vaccines if sufficient funding is secured for Gavi’s work through 2030,” Gavi CEO Sania Nishtar was quoted as saying by the same outlet.
“The doses obtained through this agreement will significantly increase the availability of Mpox vaccines for African countries,” said Bavarian Nordic CEO Paul Chaplin.
An Mpox epidemic is currently affecting 14 African countries, including Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville and the Central African Republic. The DRC is the epicentre of this new wave of the viral disease, with nearly 22,000 cases and more than 700 deaths recorded since January, Ecofin reports.
The emergence of a new variant (clade 1b) prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare Mpox a “public health emergency of international concern” on August 14.
A total of 3.6 million Mpox vaccines destined for African countries have been secured, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC), the public health agency attached to the African Union (AU).
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