The Mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries shows - as during the coronavirus pandemic - the unequal access to vaccines worldwide. Vaccines exist, but the affected countries cannot afford the vaccine due to high prices and are dependent on donations. On the occasion of International Human Rights Day on 10 December, various German non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including Misereor, are therefore calling for the German government to make the human right to health a top priority and not focus unilaterally on the interests of the pharmaceutical industry in global health policy.

A new, more aggressive variant of the viral disease Mpox is spreading rapidly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries. The rapid increase in the number of sick people, especially children, prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare an international health emergency in August this year. From January to the end of November 2024, over 56,700 suspected cases were registered, over 12,580 confirmed and over 1,140 deaths reported, most of them in the Central African region.

The disease could actually be easily controlled - if there were sufficient diagnostic facilities and vaccines available locally. But this is precisely what is lacking, even though the WHO first declared the outbreak of Mpox an international emergency back in 2022.
Based on the lessons learnt from the coronavirus pandemic, the WHO is now offering a better response to the outbreaks with a new temporary coordination mechanism and has received over five million vaccine pledges for the coming months. However, these are mainly one-off donations from the stocks of industrialised countries. The affected countries cannot afford the vaccine.

High prices, limited production

According to the African Centre for Disease Control, Africa would need a total of around 10 million doses. In any health emergency, costs are a key factor in ensuring adequate care and prevention. However, the vaccines and medicines available to treat the disease are subject to patent protection, which means high prices, limited production, no transparency on pricing and consequently limited access for affected countries in the Global South.

In this context, the NGOs involved believe it is unsatisfactory that the negotiations on the international pandemic treaty are extremely protracted because those industrialised countries in particular, where large pharmaceutical companies are based, are blocking rules on fair access to medicines and vaccines. The transfer of technology and knowledge as well as the restriction of intellectual property rights are essential prerequisites for sufficient and affordable supplies.

The coronavirus pandemic has once again highlighted the global inequality in access to key technologies, including diagnostics, vaccines and medicines. Action must be taken to ensure that the mistakes made with Mpox are not repeated:

• We call on the German government to learn lessons from the corona crisis and develop approaches that perceive intellectual property not only as an incentive for innovation and profit maximisation, but also to promote global public goods. This is the only way to create fair and universal access to diagnostics, vaccines and medicines.
• Transparent strategies for knowledge and technology transfer must be developed to support local healthcare systems: We call on the German government to support the development of regional production facilities and innovation centres in countries of the Global South, particularly in Africa.
• Healthcare systems must be strengthened and laboratory capacities and secure supply chains must be supported and established. This is also in order to maximise the benefits for the population in neglected areas.

Further contacts:

Action against AIDS: Peter Wiessner, Mail: wiessner@aktionsbuendnis-aids.de, Tel: +49 176 82 188 269

Bread for the World: Thomas Beckmann, Mail: Thomas.Beckmann@brot-fuer-die-welt.de, Tel: +49 30 65211 1443

BUKO Pharma-Kampagne: Max Klein, Mail: mk@bukopharma.de, Tel: +49 521 9687 9481