Over 162,000 doses are required in order for the mpox vaccination drive to be launched in the capital city of Kinshasa.
Shortage of Monkeypox (Mpox) vaccine doses has hindered the Democratic Republic of Congo’s attempt to launch the immunization drive. Despite the rising cases, particularly among children, there has been a vacuum in providing the country with the required funding and vaccines to curtail the spread of this disease.
Mpox was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in mid-August and the disease has spread from Congo to its neighbouring countries. On Tuesday, Cris Kacita, the head of operations for Congo’s mpox control program, said the country had only 53,921 doses of vaccine left for use in prisons, where people are at a high risk of contracting the disease due to the unhygienic conditions.
Over 162,000 doses are required in order for the vaccination drive to be launched in the capital city of Kinshasa. The capital has not been as direly affected as other parts of Congo, and vaccine drives have begun in six other provinces. France has pledged 100,000 doses of the medicine, and Germany and the African Union have also promised similar doses. However, it is unknown as to when these shipments are due to reach Congo. Kacita attributed the delay to long administrative processes such as making official requests, manufacturing, proper documentation, and import authorisation.
The Biden administration had promised to send 1 million vaccine doses and US $500 million in financial aid to help the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) and Prevention in its fight against the virus. With Donald Trump now emerging victorious and assuming office, CDC Director John Kaseya has said that he would push this newly elected government to make good on the promises made by its predecessors.
Approximately 32,000 suspected mpox cases including 840 deaths have been recorded in Africa in the past year. In September, Kaseya said that the CDC had received pledges for US $814 million, and was assured that they could raise up to US 1 billion with additional support. While a huge chunk of that was to come from the US, the agency is hopeful that they would receive the promised sum and vaccine doses. Kaseya has also noted that should the US go back on its word and withdraw support, the trust between the African continent and the US would face a severe blow.
He also explained that as long as they did not possess the required quantity of doses, launching the vaccine drive in the health zones would be difficult. According to reports, as of November 3, suspected cases among children in Congo have increased to 25,600 from 11,300. This 130% increase is ringing alarm bells, particularly because children are four times more likely than adults to die from the newest strain of the virus.
The Africa CDC has received support from various international institutions such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, which shared around $72 million for vaccine development and $145 million for the expansion of manufacturing infrastructure in Africa, particularly in Rwanda. The WHO along with its partners has also launched the Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) which works towards equitably distribution of the mpox vaccine as well as medical equipment to the affected regions.
Efforts to take measures to prevent the spread of the disease are also being undertaken by experts from affected and experienced countries through the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC). Limited access to vaccines is a big hurdle for Africa to cross for the continent, in its effort to combat mpox. The horrors of the coronavirus pandemic are still fresh in public memory for countries to neglect the outbreak of this disease. Therefore, governments, international bodies, and public and private health agencies are coming together to join hands with Africa to curtail its spread.