Global Mpox Emergency: Delayed Responses and Vaccine Shortages Complicate Crisis
News Mania Desk/Agnibeena Ghosh/19th August 2024
The global response to the ongoing mpox emergency has been significantly hampered by delays and a critical lack of vaccines, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a mutated form of the virus has been circulating for months. This situation has exposed the shortcomings in international coordination and funding, which have slowed efforts to combat the disease effectively.
The current mpox crisis began escalating in the DRC earlier this year, with the outbreak catching global health authorities by surprise. Despite the severity of the situation, Congo has yet to receive any vaccines to address the emergency. The DRC’s struggle to obtain vaccines highlights a broader issue of delayed reactions and inadequate international support. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously reported that the continent lacked appropriate support during the last mpox emergency, which concluded in 2023.
Compounding the problem, Congo’s formal request for vaccine donations only came after a prolonged delay. The country’s drug regulators approved emergency use of the vaccines only in June, despite the urgent need. This delay in action has significantly impacted the ability to mount a rapid response.
Meanwhile, international organizations and potential donors have begun to address the situation, albeit with some coordination challenges. Tulio De Oliveira from Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation criticized the global community for its failure to learn from past emergencies, suggesting that a continued focus on the outbreak could have prevented the current crisis.
Peter Sands, head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, pointed out that the world’s attention has been diverted by other crises since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. He emphasized that neglecting disease surveillance and primary care can have severe consequences, as evidenced by the current mpox situation in Congo.
The DRC faces additional complications, including outbreaks of measles and a severe humanitarian crisis with 1.7 million internally displaced people in the affected province. With approximately 15,700 suspected mpox cases reported, the true number is likely higher, given the region’s challenging conditions.
For a nation grappling with limited resources, the financial burden of addressing the mpox crisis is overwhelming. Congo’s Public Health Minister, Roger Kamba, estimates that around 3.5 million vaccine doses will be necessary, costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Despite efforts from organizations like Gavi to coordinate a response, vaccine availability remains an issue. The United States plans to donate 50,000 doses, and other countries like the UK and Germany have also pledged supplies, but logistical challenges and the need for formal requests are delaying their distribution.
Javier Guzman from the Center for Global Development lamented that despite the availability of vaccines, access remains obstructed. Without a swift and coordinated response, there is a risk of the disease spreading to additional countries.
Looking ahead, vaccines will need to be ordered from manufacturers such as Bavarian Nordic A/S after initial donations. The CEO of Bavarian Nordic, Paul Chaplin, stressed the importance of not ignoring outbreaks in any part of the world, reflecting on lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic and previous mpox outbreaks.
