More than $800 Million Pledged for Mpox Response, According to African CDC – Reuters

DAKAR (Reuters) – Pledges exceeding $800 million have been made to support the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in combating a significant mpox outbreak on the continent. The agency’s director general, Jean Kaseya, revealed that this amount is higher than initially anticipated.

Previously, the agency had aimed to raise $600 million in response to the mpox outbreak, which was declared a global health emergency in mid-August following the emergence of a new strain spreading from the Democratic Republic of Congo to surrounding nations.

So far this year, Africa has reported over 32,000 suspected mpox cases, resulting in 840 deaths, according to data from Africa CDC. Kaseya noted that the agency has now secured pledges totaling $814 million to aid its response strategy. With additional support in consideration, this figure could rise to approximately $1 billion.

A substantial portion of this funding will be contributed by the United States, which has committed $500 million and one million vaccine doses to support the initiative. Furthermore, Africa CDC will receive about $314 million from a newly established mpox fund, which is designed to accept contributions from member states and partners, including $129 million from the pandemic fund.

The agency has procured 4.3 million vaccine doses out of the more than 10 million required to effectively manage the outbreak. Additional financial support has also come from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, which allocated around $72 million for vaccine development and $145 million aimed at enhancing manufacturing capacities in Africa, particularly in Rwanda.

Kaseya highlighted that Africa CDC would need to adjust its response plan as the outbreak continues to spread and affects more nations. He emphasized the necessity of redistributing funds based on ongoing discussions with partners to ensure that all affected and high-risk countries receive adequate support in combating mpox.