Brussels offers to coordinate donation of IPC vaccines to Africa | Society

The European Commission has offered to coordinate the donation of vaccines and anti-monkeypox (formerly known as monkeypox) products to Africa, but first it wants to know which EU countries are willing to help and in what quantities. Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides has asked G27 ministers to clarify this information by the end of August.

“European donations will have a greater immediate impact if they are coordinated and channeled through the already proven Team Europe system, as was done successfully during the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Cypriot states in a letter sent to the European election capitals on Thursday, although Kyriakides herself announced her initiative on the X network this Friday.

He Team EuropeTeam Europe was created to ensure a coordinated and comprehensive response between the EU and its Member States to the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences, but has quickly become one of the key instruments of European international cooperation. It comprises the EU, the G27 and their national development banks and implementing agencies, as well as the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

“We must act together, in a coordinated and consistent manner (…) solidarity is key when it comes to confronting global health threats,” the commissioner insisted in his message. “We count on Member States to support our African allies in the fight against this outbreak,” he added, appealing to Europe’s “spirit of global solidarity and cooperation.”

On August 13, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an alert on the continent after 15,000 cases and 461 deaths from the virus were recorded this year, although there are concerns that the real figure is much higher. While most cases have been identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the virus, whose variant appears to be more deadly than the 2022 one, has also already spread to other countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. A day after the African agency’s decision, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern. This is the second time the organization has activated the maximum alert level provided by the International Health Regulations for the disease, and the eighth in history.

Meanwhile, in Europe, the EU Health Security Committee decided against recommending border controls at a virtual meeting earlier this week. Vaccination of the general population is not currently considered a public health emergency in Europe, according to the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC). So far, only one case has been identified in Europe, in Sweden. However, the ECDC considers it “very likely” that the region will start seeing an increase in imported cases of the virus.

In his letter, Kyriakides recalls that, as a “first response” to the escalation of cases in Africa, the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) has already secured a donation of more than 215,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine from the Bavarian Scandinavian company for distribution to the African CDC. But, as he emphasizes to those responsible for European health and nutrition, “the doses needed to combat the current outbreak are of course much higher.”

Therefore, given the statements by “several” European countries and other regions about their intention to donate more doses to the affected countries, the Commission’s idea is first of all to have a clear idea of ​​the quantities and the timeframes within which Member States that want to take this step will be able to do so. Kyriakides’ team has asked those responsible for each EU Member State to inform Brussels “by the end of August” of their “intention to donate MVCS vaccines and treatments, as well as the quantities available for such a donation”. Likewise, the Commissioner calls on sector ministers to use the joint procurement system contracted with the vaccine manufacturer. In this way, countries “can acquire more MVCS vaccines for donation”, he notes.