The Democratic Republic of the Congo has launched a major €45 million initiative to combat monkeypox, focusing on raising awareness and disseminating medical aid to facilitate treatment of those infected. However, vaccine acquisition and distribution remains the core component of the strategy, and is critical to the success of the effort.
Although monkeypox is generally mild, it can sometimes be fatal. Currently, two strains are circulating in the country: the endemic clade 1, and the new clade of which the first cases have been reported in Europe, including Sweden, as well as in Pakistan.
Vaccines are expected to arrive soon, Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulumba confirmed during a press conference in Kinshasa. He said, “We have completed our discussions with the United States Agency for International Development and the American government.”
The arrival of these vaccines would address the disparity highlighted by the Congolese authorities, as the country faces a major outbreak that has reached 60,000 cases, while vaccines are already circulating in Western capitals, and many African countries still lack them.
The World Health Organization can play a pivotal role by receiving and distributing vaccines from Japan, which would help address vaccine shortages in affected African countries.
