How we sleepwalked into a global mpox emergency: ‘I don’t think the world has learned’
- A mutated form of mpox was circulating for months, but war and other threats demanded attention from governments since the end of the Covid pandemic
A mutated form of mpox has been circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo for months. Now the response to what has become a global health emergency faces a key obstacle: The country still doesn’t have a single vaccine.
The absence of shots and challenges in understanding the spread of the disease in the central African country underscore how hold-ups on the ground, a lack of international coordination and funding problems have hampered a swift response.
The chain of delayed reactions to the crisis began during the last mpox emergency that ended in 2023, with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention saying the continent didn’t get the appropriate support.
Even as the threat from mpox returned and the organisation responsible for global vaccine distribution expressed its concern, Congo held off formally requesting vaccine donations. Drug regulators in the country only approved emergency use for the shots in June.
Meanwhile, multiple countries, organisations and potential donors are trying to help but are only just starting to coordinate a joint response.
“I don’t think the world has learned that it didn’t make sense to stop the World Health Organization emergency last year,” said Tulio De Oliveira, director of Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation, in an interview.
