The region's smallpox spike has been centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a new mutation of the virus emerged in 2023, but other countries are dealing with outbreaks on their own.

More than 26,500 smallpox cases and 724 deaths have been recorded in 15 African countries since the beginning of this year, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and vaccine shortages have hampered the public health response.

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), a public-private partnership that aims to make vaccines accessible to low-income countries, has announced that it will do so. Pay the doses Through the First Response Fund, a $500 million (€468 million) emergency fund created earlier this year to quickly secure vaccines for countries without strong vaccination programmes during health crises.

“The First Response Fund was designed in collaboration with Gavi donors and partners specifically to provide rapid, early funding for emergencies like smallpox,” said Sania Nishtar, Gavi’s Executive Director.

The vaccines come from Danish manufacturer Bavarian Nordic and will arrive sometime in 2024.

This announcement came days after the World Health Organization announced The vaccine has been approved.This has allowed donors to purchase supplies. The vaccines will be allocated to the most affected countries based on WHO criteria, which prioritize vulnerable populations.

“We are committed to working with affected governments and our partners to transform these vaccines into vaccines as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Nishtar said, adding that the group also aims to create a global reserve of vaccines — if it can secure sufficient funding.

The Gavi purchase brings the total number of vaccines promised for the smallpox response in Africa to more than 4.1 million. European countries, the United States and the Nordic countries have pledged 620,000 doses, according to the World Health Organization, and Japan has pledged 3 million doses from another vaccine maker.

First doses arrive from the European Union Earlier this month.

The Africa CDC estimates that 10 million vaccines are needed to stop the smallpox outbreak, which the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency in August.

Smallpox is spread through close contact with an infected person and can cause fever, headache, pain, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and skin lesions that last two to four weeks.