WASHINGTON — Two weeks after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency, The ONE Campaign is calling for global cooperation and increased vigilance: The next few weeks will determine whether systems designed to improve equity in public health emergencies are working or if the world will repeat mistakes from the past. 

“The Covid-19 pandemic exposed some massive holes in the systems we have to respond to global health emergencies. The Achilles heel of the global response was the lack of equity,” said Jenny Ottenhoff, Senior Policy Director, Global Health, at ONE. “The global response to Mpox will be yet another stress test for these systems. Citizens expect improvements and are ready to hold decision-makers accountable if we don’t see them. 

“It is unacceptable that no vaccines have yet reached the Democratic Republic of Congo. But there are signs of progress: Some governments have pledged vaccine doses, and WHO has signaled that partners like Gavi can start negotiations to buy Mpox vaccines while the approval process continues. The next few weeks will determine whether we have learned from past mistakes or not. We’re watching, and we’re ready to call out anyone who stands in the way of fighting the outbreak.” 

ONE is calling on governments to support the leadership of the African CDC. World leaders and global institutions must focus on the following to stop Mpox:   

• Strengthen national and regional surveillance and testing capacity to track disease progression and inform response plans. 

• Release stockpiles of Mpox vaccine for access now and deliver doses as quickly as possible. Partners such as Gavi plan to purchase and distribute Mpox vaccines to areas of greatest need, supporting national and regional response plans.   

• Mobilize rapid and sustained funding to implement country, regional and global response plans. Leaders must do all they can to ensure that the upcoming Gavi replenishment is a success.   

• Support structural efforts to build capacity for R&D and manufacturing capacity on the African continent including technology transfer agreements and financing to build manufacturing capacity. 

The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is currently working on a continental response plan. ONE calls on world leaders to closely follow the recommendations of the Africa CDC to tackle the Mpox crisis.   

Background:

• The G20 Health Working Group will meet from September 1-3. ONE is calling on world leaders to come together and ensure that international cooperation is at the forefront of the response to Mpox.  

• Currently, 10 million doses of vaccine are needed to control the Mpox outbreak in Africa, but the continent has only 200,000 doses.  

• ONE welcomes the pledge of 500,000 doses of vaccines from the United States, France, Germany, and the European Commission, but more than 10 million doses are still needed in Africa. But this approach of donating doses during a crisis is inefficient. Africa must be able to supply itself with the vaccines it needs in the medium to long term – whether through regional production, partnership with Gavi, or direct negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. African countries shouldn’t have to rely on the generosity of others to beat back a health crisis. 

• This year, more than 22,000 cases of Mpox and more than 600 deaths have been reported in 13 African countries. Cases have also recently been reported in Sweden, Thailand, the Philippines and Pakistan.