Africa Faces Dire Mpox Vaccine Shortage

In a shocking revelation, health officials have announced that Africa is facing a massive shortfall in mpox vaccine funding, with only enough financial resources available to cover half of the continent's urgent needs. Dr. Ngashi Ngongo, the mpox lead at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), conveyed the gravity of the situation, especially in Sierra Leone and Uganda, two countries already struggling with high infection rates.

Desperate Need for Doses

Africa is in urgent need of 6.4 million vaccine doses to combat ongoing outbreaks, yet approximately 3.5 million doses remain unfunded. Sierra Leone has requested 280,000 doses but has only received a mere 50,000, while Uganda only has half of what it asked for. These two countries, along with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are responsible for a staggering 86% of the continent's current mpox cases.

Public Advocacy for Price Reduction

In response to this escalating crisis, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has publicly urged Bavarian Nordic, the vaccine manufacturer, to significantly reduce the price of its mpox vaccine, MVA-BN, currently set at $65 per dose. Peter Maybarduk from Public Citizen pointed out that this steep price is severely straining medical budgets and hampering a timely response to the outbreak.

Comparing Costs: A Disparity Revealed

Recent reports indicate that while the U.S. government paid approximately $55.35 per dose for MVA-BN, UNICEF was charged nearly $10 more. Since the World Health Organization declared an mpox emergency in 2022, Bavarian Nordic has experienced an astonishing 523% spike in revenue from this vaccine compared to previous years.

The Funding Crunch: UNICEF's Dilemma

Furthermore, UNICEF, which has been the foremost supplier of vaccines globally, is grappling with its own funding crisis and is unable to cover the cost of around 350,000 doses from its supply agreement with Bavarian Nordic. With projections showing a potential 20% drop in income, the organization is experiencing its lowest revenue levels in over a decade.

US Contribution Withdrawn: A Major Setback

The loss of U.S. funding has dealt a serious blow to global vaccination efforts. Public Citizen emphasizes that this withdrawal underscores an urgent need for renewed commitments from all stakeholders involved in the mpox response, especially since the previous administration's cuts to international aid have thrown the future of nearly 695,000 pledged U.S. doses into uncertainty.

Current Status of Mpox Cases

While there has been a noted 30% drop in mpox cases over the past week, Dr. Ngongo cautiously warns that this decline might be misleading due to a significant reduction in testing rates in the DRC, which have fallen by almost 50%.

Parallel Health Crisis: Cholera Surge

As Africa battles its mpox crisis, it also faces a rampant rise in cholera, impacting 21 member states and resulting in nearly 150,000 cases this year alone. Angola, which has been the epicenter, recently reported a 46% decrease in cases, but the situation remains dire.

The World Health Organization has launched a 10-day oral cholera vaccination campaign targeting over 2.6 million individuals as urgent measures to combat the outbreak, particularly in conflict-affected areas like Khartoum.

Conclusion: A Call for Action

As these crises intertwine, the pressing need for affordable vaccines in Africa has never been more critical. Urgent action is required not just from manufacturers like Bavarian Nordic, but from global health entities, governments, and organizations to ensure that lives are saved and outbreaks are contained.