DR Congo urgently needs 3m doses of mpox vaccine to stop outbreak
The Democratic Republic of the Congo urgently needs 3 million doses of the mpox vaccine (the new name for monkey pox) to stop the outbreak of this disease in the country – as noted by Congolese Minister of Health Samuel-Roger Kamba, TASS reports
“We need to receive 3 million doses of the mpox vaccine to vaccinate 2.5 million people in the most affected areas. We believe that this amount will be enough to stop the spread of the disease,” the official is quoted as saying by the Congolese news portal Zoom Eco at a briefing on the measures taken by the government to combat mpox.
Samuel-Roger Kamba added that his country also hopes for international assistance to purchase the vaccine, “These vaccines are very expensive – worth about hundreds of millions of US dollars. It is important that the international community wake up and join the efforts to combat mpox, providing us with the necessary resources to purchase this vaccine.”
In summer 2023, the DRC government approved the use of two new mpox vaccines that have been developed in the last few years. These vaccines have also been approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
