Germany to donate 100,000 mpox vaccine doses to combat outbreak in Africa
Germany has pledged to donate 100,000 doses of mpox vaccines from its military reserves to help control the outbreak on the African continent, a government spokesperson announced on Monday. The donation is aimed at providing immediate relief to the affected countries and supporting the broader response effort.
The German government will transfer the vaccine doses to the World Health Organization (WHO), and also offer flexible financial resources through various channels to combat the mpox crisis. Additionally, Germany will collaborate with the GAVI vaccine alliance to aid its partners in Africa, the spokesperson confirmed.
Germany’s military currently holds around 117,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine, which was procured in 2022. While 100,000 doses will be allocated for the current emergency, a minimal reserve will be maintained to protect traveling authorities. Decisions regarding further vaccine procurement will be made separately, according to a defense ministry spokesperson.
The WHO has declared mpox a global public health emergency following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that has spread to neighboring countries. The emergence of a new virus variant, clade Ib, has heightened concerns about rapid transmission.
Germany is working to expedite the delivery of the vaccines to the DRC, as well as to Burundi and other neighboring countries in East Africa, a foreign ministry spokesperson reported.
