The World Health Organization unveiled a six-month plan to stop mpox from spreading further, budgeting US$135 million until next February – but no money for the costly vaccines needed to make the plan work.
What's new: "This budget excludes the cost of procuring approximately 2 million vaccine doses, essential for targeting contacts of suspected cases and healthcare/frontline workers in areas with active transmission," says WHO's 27-page plan released on Monday. "Final budget and resource allocations will be determined through further planning to ensure sufficient funding for effective outbreak management and control."
What's next: The plan also calls for more staffing in the affected countries along with increased surveillance, prevention and response strategies. The U.N. health agency and other organizations, such as the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, plan to host a virtual scientific conference later this week to align mpox research with outbreak control goals.
What's important: The new plan for dealing with the outbreaks relies on procurement and donations to obtain about 2 million vaccine doses needed over the six-month period, based on a two-dose regimen. Germany announced it will donate 100,000 doses from its military stocks to Congo and other countries. Though some estimates put the cost of a single dose at US$100, the plan puts that at US$50 to US$75 per dose, and also omits the costs of some additional medical countermeasures that would be needed such as rapid diagnostic tests and therapeutics.
What's involved: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' decision earlier this month to declare mpox, also known as monkeypox, as "a public health emergency of international concern" reflects its alarming spread among children and adults in a dozen African countries, mainly Congo. Africa CDC says more than 21,300 suspected or confirmed cases and 590 deaths have been reported this year in 12 African countries. Mpox can cause skin lesions and usually spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, including sex.
What's happening now: “The mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries can be controlled, and can be stopped,” Tedros said. “Doing so requires a comprehensive and coordinated plan of action between international agencies and national and local partners, civil society, researchers and manufacturers, and our member states."
