Gavi, the vaccine alliance, has announced plans to establish a global stockpile of Mpox vaccines following an outbreak of the zoonotic viral disease in Africa.
Gavi said the stockpiles will be similar to its existing supplies for cholera, ebola, meningitis, and yellow fever vaccines.
“Establishment of a stockpile is pending the availability of World Health Organisation Emergency Use Listing or prequalification of a recommended vaccine, and subject to fundraising for Gavi’s next strategic period,” Gavi said.
Gavi is an international organization created in 2000 to improve access to new and underused vaccines for children in the world’s poorest countries.
African countries have already reported more confirmed and suspected Mpox infections in 2024 than in all of 2023.
Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda have all reported their first-ever Mpox infections in the past month, and in a single week in early August, the DRC reported nearly 2,400 suspected infections and 56 deaths.
In a statement, Gavi said the goal will be to ensure the design of the stockpile is informed by a robust assessment of the long-term public health need.
“In the interim, Gavi will support outbreak response in the DRC and surrounding countries,” it said.
Gavi added that it will make critical investments in a learning agenda that will ensure the current response will help inform and improve future vaccination efforts against the disease, including the design of a global stockpile.
Gavi continues to be deeply concerned about the escalating Mpox emergency on the African continent.
Gavi has welcomed the recently announced measures by the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and WHO which will help create an enabling environment in support of a comprehensive region-led response.
It said it joins partners in emphasizing the importance of international coordination following a declaration of a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security by Africa CDC and a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by WHO.
Gavi said it has been closely monitoring the Mpox situation since 2022, working in collaboration with countries and partners.
“As a result, considerations related to Mpox have helped inform both the design of Gavi’s new innovative health security mechanisms, aimed at addressing systemic gaps exposed during the Covid-19 vaccine response, as well as Gavi’s next five-year strategy,” it said.
Gavi noted that when the assessment process for Gavi’s next five-year Vaccine Investment Strategy (VIS) began in 2023, Mpox vaccines were included for consideration.
