On Wednesday, a senior official reported that Africa has secured under 10% of the $245 million needed to address the rising mpox outbreak.
The outbreak, which the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency in mid-August, has seen a new strain spreading from the Democratic Republic of Congo to adjacent countries, increasing the urgency for funding.
The Africa CDC has outlined a budget to evaluate available funds and necessary resources for the mpox response. The initial projected cost is $245 million, as reported by Africa CDC Chief of Staff Ngashi Ngongo during a WHO meeting in Brazzaville.
So far, the Democratic Republic of Congo has allocated $10 million and the African Union has approved $10.4 million, totaling around $20 million in funds. Ngongo noted that the remaining funding gap is approximately $224 million, with updates expected. Additionally, Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya highlighted efforts to secure nearly 1 million doses of the mpox vaccine.
The vaccine distribution plan includes 215,000 doses from Bavarian Nordic, 100,000 doses from France, nearly 100,000 doses from Germany, and about 500,000 doses from Spain. However, there is no set schedule for when these vaccines will be delivered to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country most affected by the virus. Mpox, which presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, is typically mild but can be deadly.
