According to Africa, 10 million doses of the mpox vaccine are required to contain this public health calamity.
Given that the Democratic Republic of the Congo has recorded more than 27,000 probable cases of mpox and more than 1,300 deaths thus far this year, the situation there is especially concerning.
Immunizations against the mpox have been promised by the US and Europe. Donations are welcome in case of emergency. Donations, however, are an unreliable charity “bandaid” solution.
To guarantee fair access to mpox vaccinations for both this and the upcoming medical emergency, the following steps must be taken.
How did we arrive at this location?
After an increase in cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the possibility of future spread, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated mpox an international public health emergency of international concern less than a month ago.
Once known as monkeypox, mpox has spread to previously unaffected nations, most likely due to a newly contagious variant of the virus.
The WHO has not, however, approved any mpox vaccinations. Before organizations like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF can start purchasing vaccinations and delivering them to afflicted nations that have not yet received independent approval, this is required.
Donations of vaccinations can also be provided after the WHO has approved the shots. Approximately 175,000 of these doses come from the European Commission, while an additional 40,000 come from the vaccine manufacturer Bavarian Nordic. Additionally, the US promised to donate 50,000 doses from its national stockpile.
Donated vaccines only recently arrived, even for nations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which approved the immunizations on an emergency basis back in June.
Not many affluent nations have been as generous with their vaccination donations. To date, Canada has not agreed to share any of its millions of doses. Although it hasn’t stated anything about donations, Australia has obtained some vaccination doses for its people.
Concerns have also been raised on how well the current vaccinations will function against the novel virus strain.
This is nothing new.
Another mpox outbreak occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2022. Because they were so concerned, the US, Canada, and the EU purchased vaccines from Bavarian Nordic. But that left less for less developed nations.
The current situation could have been averted if vaccines had been accessible in Africa at the time, according to Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, acting director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Low-income nations are always at the back of the queue for immunizations, diagnostics, and treatments, particularly those in Africa.
This is a narrative that has been told several times in the last few decades, most notably about COVID, Ebola, and HIV/AIDS.
In high-income nations, 75–80% of people had received the COVID vaccine during the first year it was made available, while less than 10% of people in low-income countries had received the shot.
This is not an inevitable maldistribution. The exploitation of natural resources in colonized countries by wealthy nations has left a legacy, and global trade and investment regulations have perpetuated this practice, keeping low-income nations impoverished and reliant on wealthier nations.
This is what transpired with COVID-19 goods.
The global intellectual property system, which is administered by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), is one such example. Under this agreement, businesses maintain control over the production and cost of their goods, including COVID vaccinations, until the expiration of their patents. Consequently, only wealthy nations can afford these vaccines.
In 2020, temporary exemptions for COVID-19 medical products was suggested by South Africa and India, with the eventual support of over one hundred other low- and middle-income nations. This would have made it possible to increase the production of vaccinations, diagnostics, therapies, and other items required to combat the pandemic by freeing up scientific knowledge, technology, and other intellectual property.
The WTO accepted a significantly reduced version of the initial proposal in less than two years. Exporting COVID vaccines was only marginally made easier by the five-year waiver. It did not contain any additional COVID medical items, such as treatments or diagnostics, nor did it involve the transfer of technology or know-how required to safely and quickly increase production.
We have to ensure that this doesn’t occur once more.
As the probability of animal-to-human disease transmission rises due to climate change and environmental devastation, outbreaks of infectious diseases such as mpox and others are inevitable.
Relying on charity, voluntary sharing by pharmaceutical corporations, or the goodwill of WTO member nations will not be sufficient to prevent and control such outbreaks.
African nations now understand how important it is to make their public health systems more self-sufficient. They understand that to solve the current global imbalances, they must strengthen their voice as a group on issues about global health and improve their ability to anticipate and respond to disease risks. A structure for action exists.
However, Africa cannot address the issue of the unequal distribution of emergency medications globally on its own. To guarantee that nations collaborate in the fight against pandemics, their prevention, response, and exchange of vaccines and other essential medical supplies, new international regulations are also required. This is essential to prevent a recurrence of the global vaccination disparity that occurred during COVID-19.
In December 2021, the member states of WHO decided to negotiate such an accord. However, they failed to finish it before the self-imposed deadline of mid-2024.
The current mpox public health emergency, while not yet a pandemic, highlights the necessity of a coordinated international effort to negotiate agreements that guarantee a more equitable provision of vaccines, medications, and diagnostic testing.
Every nation ought to heed this. The ideal time may come during the next WHO pandemic agreement negotiations, which will define how the globe handles pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response.
Read More News:
Einstein’s general relativity and quantum physics are united by a magical equation in the first
NASA Drops ESCAPADE from Debut New Glenn Mission
U.Va. Health faculty ultimatum clear away of health system CEO, School of Medicine dean
