African countries fall far short of mpox vaccination targets
June 4, 2025
Africa’s escalating mpox crisis has been met with an underwhelming global vaccination response, jeopardizing containment efforts. Despite an initial goal to vaccinate 10 million people, only 720,000 have received vaccines across the continent, with supply shortfalls and logistical hurdles delaying rollout. In conflict-ridden hotspots like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, fragile health systems have buckled under rising cases. Africa CDC’s ring vaccination strategy has stalled, hindered by limited lab access and resource constraints. With global equity in question and manufacturers reluctant to share technology, African nations are left to stretch scant doses. Bold investments and regional production are urgently needed.
As mpox continues to surge across Africa—particularly in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—a stark gap between global pledges and vaccine realities is hindering containment. In September 2024, the Africa CDC and WHO aimed to vaccinate 10 million people in six months. That target was later scaled back to 6.4 million, yet as of May 2025, only 720,000 people across seven countries had been vaccinated.
Despite rising infections and a PHEIC declaration from the World Health Organization, vaccine deliveries have been delayed or insufficient. Japan recently shipped 1.5 million LC16m8 doses to the DRC, but the vaccine’s administration complexity and limitations for immunocompromised individuals make it suboptimal for widespread use. The MVA vaccine—safer and more widely recommended—has faced delivery and manufacturing challenges. The Biden administration pledged one million doses, of which only half have arrived. UNICEF promised up to a million but delivered barely half that. The ring vaccination strategy championed by Africa CDC has faltered in conflict zones like eastern DRC, where testing and contact tracing are nearly impossible.
What’s more troubling is the continued dependence on external donors. USAID funding cuts have weakened logistics and vaccine delivery, while local manufacturing is stalled by proprietary controls. Bavarian Nordic’s licensing deal with India’s Serum Institute excludes African producers, raising serious questions about global equity in vaccine access.
To curb this outbreak, regional manufacturing, transparent technology sharing, and domestic resource mobilization are imperative. Ring vaccination must be supported with sufficient lab infrastructure, personnel, and surveillance capacity. As Dr. Yap Boum of Africa CDC put it, “We really have to do more and better with less.” If global partners are sincere in their commitment to health equity, they must act now to empower Africa’s vaccine sovereignty and outbreak response capabilities.