Belgium will donate 20,000 Mpox vaccines to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Federal Council of Ministers determined on Friday, following a proposal by Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke and Minister for Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez.
Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) infection rates across Central Africa are causing concern. The Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) has reported approximately 24,000 suspected or confirmed new cases this year in 13 African nations, with more than 600 deaths, mainly in the DRC.
In response, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the epidemic a global health crisis and launched a plan to contain the spread of the virus as swiftly as possible.
Belgium has heeded the call of the WHO, the EU, and the DRC by donating a portion of its strategic Mpox vaccine supplies to safeguard those in the DRC most at risk. "We call on other European countries to follow our example," encouraged Vandenbroucke and Gennez.
After alerting the European Authority for Public Health (HERA), Belgium made an order of 215,000 Mpox vaccines. The first batch was delivered yesterday.
According to Minister Vandenbroucke, Belgium is closely monitoring the domestic situation and remains confident that this does not pose a threat in the country.
