Spain to donate 20% of its monkeypox vaccine stocks to Africa

Spain will donate 20% of its money to several Central African countries stock smallpox vaccine, that is 100,000 vials This would allow up to 500,000 people to be immunised, and called on the European Commission to extend the same offer to all member states.

«There is no point in stockpiling vaccines where there is no problem.and now is the time to prove it,” the Ministry of Health stressed in a note in which it insisted that the most important thing was to act in Central Africa, the epicentre of the current smallpox outbreak, which has led to the international community’s second declaration of a public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO).

On the very day this happened, August 14, the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) announced that it will supply more than 215,000 doses to the African continent the only vaccine against MPCS approved in Europe and the USA.

To keep the current focus, To vaccinate with approximately 10 million doses, approximately two million vials will be required.reminds of the ministry.

In this context, Spain informed the European Commission that it would contribute 20% of its contribution. stock vaccines, that is 100,000 vials, enough to vaccinate 500,000 dosesand called on him to lead a collective commitment by all Member States to make the same contribution.

“We must overcome the tendency to confront the mpox-related public health emergency of international concern. Vaccine hoarding and deprotection of Central African countrieswhere the problem is now more intense,” Health Minister Javier Padilla emphasized on his account on the social network X.

Padilla thought about it now ‘Unrivalled opportunity to advance Pandemic Agreement’ – WHO this was not achieved by “supporting aspects related to technology transfer and access to products in international emergencies.”

However, he clarified that although the donation of vaccines This is an “inevitable moment”, this is not enough.and it is important to “also lead regulatory engagement and facilitate access to manufacturing and technology” to address the mpox crisis.

“Global health can be achieved through justice or through security, so whoever does not understand that this is of fundamental importance in the context of international solidarity and health justice.“You have to do this for your own safety,” he concluded.

Since January last year, almost 21,500 cases of smallpox and 591 deaths from the disease have been reported in 13 African countries. In Spain and up to August 19 last year There were 267 new cases registered, 98% of which were men aged 6 to 68 years.A total of 8,111 people have been diagnosed, of whom more than 7,500 were identified in 2022, when the outbreak broke out in countries where smallpox is not endemic.