The World Health Organisation announced on Friday the establishment of a global mpox vaccine stockpile, coordinated with international pharmaceutical partners and funded through a consortium of sovereign donors and multilateral development banks.
The initiative aims to pre-position approximately 5 million doses of third-generation smallpox-derived vaccines at regional distribution hubs across sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America — the regions most vulnerable to future mpox outbreaks.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the programme was designed to address the "vaccination equity gap" that was starkly exposed during the 2022-2024 mpox pandemic, when wealthy nations secured the vast majority of available doses while African countries with the highest caseloads waited months for deliveries.
Bavarian Nordic, the Danish manufacturer of the Jynneos vaccine, has committed to producing 3 million doses at discounted pricing for the stockpile, with additional contributions expected from Japanese manufacturer KM Biologics.
The Global Fund, GAVI, and the World Bank's Pandemic Fund have collectively pledged $280 million over three years to finance procurement, cold-chain infrastructure, and training for frontline health workers in recipient countries.
