Yesterday the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) delivered 5,420 doses of the MVA-BN® vaccine to Rwanda to support the country’s response to the ongoing mpox outbreak.
This delivery is part of the 215,000 doses donated by HERA to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to address the current crisis across the African continent, and follows the delivery of around 200,000 mpox vaccines to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in September.
These actions reflect HERA’s broader work to strengthen preparedness and response capacities for both current and future health emergencies, to swiftly address emerging health threats through coordinated intervention and close cooperation with affected nations.
The EU’s vaccine support is complemented by comprehensive action in other areas. The EU and its Member States are providing support across those areas, contributing to the implementation of the WHO global mpox plan and the African continental mpox plan.
The Pandemic Fund, to which Team Europe is the largest contributor, has allocated USD 129 million for the ten most affected countries, including Rwanda, to improve surveillance and detection of the virus, enhance laboratory capacity, and train the emergency workforce needed for vaccinations. The Fund’s allocation mobilises additional contributions from countries and global health actors amounting to over USD 112 million. With Team Europe Support, a total of USD 241 million has been mobilised.
HERA is also actively addressing other critical health threats in Africa, such as the Marburg virus. Recognising the serious risks posed by these viruses, HERA has prioritised efforts to develop vaccines and treatments. HERA is working closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to deploy clinical protocols for testing and validating candidate therapeutics and vaccines, in addition to the contribution agreement established with WHO in late 2023 through the EU4Health programme with a €7.42 million budget.
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “As of last night, over 5,400 vaccine doses from the Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) arrived in Rwanda to help address the mpox outbreak. These latest deliveries are a testimony to our commitment to address the outbreak in close coordination and cooperation with our partners. Solidarity across global borders is a cornerstone of our strong European Health Union, and key to protecting the health of citizens in Europe and beyond.” (End).