WHO Declares Monkeypox A 'Global Health Emergency' And Seeks International Aid
Last week, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the monkeypox outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
This marks the second time in over two years that the WHO has declared the monkeypox outbreak to be a PHEIC. Tedros expressed deep concern over the potential for the monkeypox outbreak to spread further within Africa and to other continents.
Historically, WHO has issued this highest level of alert seven times, for the H1N1 influenza (swine flu), polio, two Ebola outbreaks, Zika, COVID-19, and the monkeypox outbreak two years ago.
This implies that WHO aims to mobilize international resources on par with polio, Ebola, and COVID-19, demonstrating the organization's seriousness regarding the current monkeypox outbreak. However, the issue lies in the seemingly limited funding available to address monkeypox.
Data shows that 12 member states of the African Union have experienced monkeypox outbreaks, with a total of 18,737 reported monkeypox cases, including 3,101 confirmed cases, 15,636 suspected cases, and 541 deaths, resulting in a case fatality rate of 2.89%.
These cases involve three strains of the monkeypox virus, one of which is a new, more deadly, and more transmissible Cluster Ib variant that began spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September last year. Currently, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is also the most severely affected country in this monkeypox outbreak, with cases reported in all 26 provinces.
Media analysis suggests that to curb the spread of monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighboring countries, surveillance, public health education, and vaccination are needed, the costs of which are very high, especially for the impoverished countries at the center of the crisis.
So far, the WHO has allocated $1.45 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies, and the African Union has approved $10.4 million from its existing COVID-19 fund to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The largest source of funding may come from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which has indicated it may use its $500 million emergency fund for vaccination. Even so, these amounts combined are far less than the $4 billion estimated by Africa CDC Director Jean-Jacques Muyembe as being needed.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the countries facing the most severe situation: Last week, the country's Minister of Health stated that since the beginning of this year, the country has identified 15,664 suspected cases of monkeypox and 548 deaths. Mbungani mentioned that the Democratic Republic of the Congo needs 3.5 million doses of the monkeypox vaccine, estimating the cost to be hundreds of millions of dollars.
Currently, the only approved monkeypox vaccine in Europe and the United States is MVA-BN, developed by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic, priced at about $100 per dose, a price that is unaffordable for many countries.