Faced with MPOX, UNICEF launches a call for tenders to obtain vaccines

UNICEF announced on Saturday, August 31, that it had launched “an emergency call for tenders” in order to obtain vaccines against mpox to be able to help the countries most affected. “Depending on demand, the production capacity of manufacturers and financing, agreements for a maximum of twelve million doses in 2025 can be put in place”UNICEF said in a statement released with the World Health Organization, the Gavi Vaccine Alliance and the Africa CDC (Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention). This “The emergency tender is designed to ensure immediate access to available MPOX vaccines as well as to increase production”the press release states.

As part of this call for tenders, UNICEF wishes to establish supply agreements enabling it to acquire and distribute vaccines. “without delay, once countries and partners have secured financing, confirmed needs and readiness, and regulatory requirements for vaccine acceptance are in place”.

The resurgence of COPD in Africa, affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other countries on the continent (notably Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda), and the emergence of a new variant (1b) prompted the WHO to trigger its highest level of global health alert on 14 August.

More than 200 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo

More than 18,000 suspected cases of MPOX, including 629 deaths, have been reported this year in the DRC, “which is the epicenter of the crisis”according to the press release, which specifies that “four out of five deaths are children”. There are two main families, called « clades »of the virus. Clade 1 is mainly present in Central Africa, in the Congo Basin. Clade 2 circulates rather in West Africa. Two subgroups of mpox circulate in the DRC: clade 1a, in the west of the country and clade 1b, in the east.

WHO recommends the use of the MVA-BN vaccines, produced by the Danish pharmaceutical laboratory Bavarian Nordic, or LC16, from the Japanese company KM Biologics, or the ACAM2000 vaccine, manufactured in the United States, when the first two are not available. Since MVA-BN and LC16 have not yet obtained the “prequalification” WHO’s comprehensive review, a long and complex process, the organization has launched an emergency review.

“WHO is currently reviewing the information submitted by manufacturers on 23 August and is expected to complete its review for emergency use listing by mid-September.”the statement said.