By Bunmi Yekini
In a bid to combat the rising number of mpox cases in Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) has teamed up with several partners to create a system that ensures vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tests reach the people who need them most. The newly established Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) is designed to make sure these limited resources are distributed fairly, especially as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighboring countries struggle with a recent outbreak.
“Vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics are essential tools to control the mpox outbreaks in Africa,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The COVID-19 pandemic taught us the importance of international collaboration to make sure these tools get to where they’re needed most. We urge countries with stockpiles of vaccines and other supplies to step up and donate, so we can stop the spread and save lives.”
Fifteen African countries have reported mpox cases this year. WHO’s new mechanism, developed alongside key global partners like the Africa Centres for Disease Control and UNICEF, is part of a broader strategy to manage the outbreak. Over 3.6 million vaccine doses have been pledged so far, including 620,000 doses from European nations and the U.S., with Japan contributing 3 million doses of the LC16 vaccine—the largest donation to date.
Dr. Mike Ryan, who heads WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, emphasized the importance of getting these supplies to the frontlines: “The AAM will make sure we have a reliable supply of vaccines and other tools to help stop the virus from spreading and ease the suffering of those affected.”
With the shortage of vaccines and treatments, WHO’s new system will focus on distributing them to high-risk groups first, including contacts of confirmed cases, and making diagnostic tools more accessible to countries currently dealing with outbreaks. The organization has promised to be transparent about how it allocates resources and to adapt its strategies as the situation evolves.
In addition to vaccines and treatments, WHO is helping affected countries with case detection, contact tracing, and community outreach efforts to contain the spread of the virus.