US has wasted hundreds of thousands of vaccines meant for Africa, health officials there say
July 17, 2025
Nearly 800,000 mpox vaccine doses pledged by the U.S. to African nations may be discarded due to expiration, reflecting systemic failures in global outbreak response. Africa CDC cites short shelf lives and bureaucratic bottlenecks, including U.S. foreign aid cuts, as key obstacles. Meanwhile, nearly 160,000 suspected cases and 1,900 potential deaths—many among children—underscore the crisis. Vaccines exist, but broken mechanisms prevent their use. In a pandemic era defined by equity rhetoric, the silent expiry of life-saving tools speaks volumes. Public health cannot hinge on expired promises.
As Africa confronts a devastating mpox outbreak, nearly 800,000 vaccine doses pledged by the United States now face expiration, unable to be shipped in time. Africa CDC confirms that the doses—meant to protect populations in 11 countries—have less than six months of shelf life, falling short of the required threshold for safe deployment and rollout. Out of over 1 million doses pledged by the Biden administration, only 91,000 have arrived, with an additional 220,000 doses awaiting political clearance.
This debacle is part of a broader unraveling of U.S. global health leadership. Cuts initiated under President Donald Trump—including the closure of USAID—have disrupted funding streams and logistics for vaccine procurement and delivery. Congress is now poised to rescind hundreds of millions in global health funding, further eroding capacity. UNICEF’s purchase price of $65 per dose—the lowest on the market—underscores just how costly wasted doses truly are, both financially and morally.
The stakes are high. African countries have reported nearly 160,000 suspected cases and 46,000 confirmed infections, with over 1,900 suspected deaths, many among children. Conflict zones and testing limitations obscure the true toll. The WHO declared the outbreak a global health emergency in 2024, citing rapid viral evolution and potential increases in transmissibility and severity.
This crisis is not merely about logistics. It is a failure of solidarity, of treating global public health as an interconnected, shared responsibility. While wealthy nations curtailed outbreaks through rapid vaccination, African countries are left waiting, underfunded, and undersupplied. The expired doses are emblematic of a deeper dysfunction: the inability—or unwillingness—of global systems to deliver equitable protection when it matters most.
The world must do better. Vaccine pledges must be backed by timely funding, functional infrastructure, and political will. In public health, promises delayed are promises denied.