Today, close to 100,000 mpox vaccine doses will arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), making these the first delivery of the vaccine to the country. A second delivery amounting to around 100,000 vaccines is expected to arrive in the coming days.
These vaccines are part of the 215,000 MVA-BN®vaccine doses that the European Commission's Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) procured and pledged to share to affected countries in Africa as an immediate response to the mpox outbreak.
Via Team Europe, an additional 351,500 of doses from France, Germany, Spain, Malta, Portugal, Luxembourg, Croatia, Austria, Poland, and potentially some other Member States, will be donated to the Africa CDC to distribute to affected countries. This brings the total number of vaccine doses donated from Team Europe to at least 566,500, which includes the above 215,000 doses that were donated by HERA in cooperation with the Bavarian Nordic pharmaceutical company.
EU support for the mpox outbreak
This initiative is part of a comprehensive set of EU actions put in place as part of the EU Global Health Strategy, which represents the external dimension of a strong European Health Union and is a key component of Global Gateway, to support partners in the rest of the world.
The Commission is actively coordinating the response of EU Member States to the mpox outbreak via regular meetings of the HERA Board and the Health Security Committee, which allows prompt coordination when dealing with health threats.
The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) is in contact with EU Member States given that, if activated, the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (rescEU) can be used to channel mpox vaccines and therapeutics to countries in need. Specialised expertise, medical items and equipment could also be deployed based on these needs.
Under the Global Gateway investment strategy, the Commission is committed to advancing public health in Africa. The Commission has focused on strengthening health systems, securing pharmaceutical supply chains, and developing local manufacturing through investment in infrastructure and a supportive regulatory environment. An example of this is the Team Europe Initiative on manufacturing and access to vaccines, medicines and health technologies (Mav+) and on Sustainable Health Security.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is supporting epidemiological work on the ground in the DRC, working with the Africa CDC to identify priority areas for mpox research, and is leading coordination of the Network of Major CDCs globally. HERA is also working with the Africa CDC with the aim of expanding access to mpox diagnostics and sequencing in the region, with a €9.4 million grant foreseen for early autumn.
The Commission has released €1 million in humanitarian aid to support care, prevention, epidemiological surveillance, risk communication and distribution of kits in the eastern DRC as well as €200,000 in Burundi to assist the Burundi Red Cross in preparing for and responding to the epidemic. Under the European Humanitarian Response Capacity (EHRC), in cooperation with the ECDC, two epidemiologists were deployed on 4 September to the DRC. In addition, the Commission provides regular humanitarian funding for surveillance programmes, including in Uganda and Kenya's camps and settlements and expertise to assist in the response.
Background
The World Health Organization determined on 14 August that the upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa constituted a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). This followed the Africa CDC declaration the previous day of a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security, to respond to the escalating public health concern across the region.
Africa CDC called upon the international community to support its efforts, a call to which HERA responded immediately, resulting in the first vaccines to be donated to the DRC.
HERA has worked with the pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic since the 2022 mpox outbreak, initially through direct procurement agreements, followed by the signing of a joint procurement contract which has enabled EU Member States and the European Economic Area (EEA) countries to procure the mpox vaccine as needed for national use. On 14 August 2024 this cooperation was strengthened by HERA's donation of 215,000 MVA-BN® vaccine doses as a donation to Africa CDC.
