News & Media

Africa to receive just 10% of doses needed to control mpox outbreak by end of year

December 26, 2024

African countries are set to receive just one tenth of the vaccines they need to control the mpox outbreak by the end of 2024, analysis from the People’s Medicines Alliance has found, while rich countries hold nearly all of global supplies. As the outbreak spreads across Africa, high prices are keeping vaccines and tests out of reach for the people most at risk.

Africa needs approximately 10 million vaccine doses to control the outbreak, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, but only around 1 million have been delivered. An estimated 210 million vials of vaccine have been produced to date, but more than 99 per cent are thought to be sat in rich country stockpiles.

The cost of the key mpox vaccine called MVA-BN, produced by Bavarian Nordic, has raised serious concerns about accessibility. UNICEF recently negotiated a price of up to $65 per dose from Bavarian Nordic, which is almost 2.5 times more expensive than most other vaccines in its portfolio.

Vaccines made with similar technology can be produced for just $5 per dose by developing country manufacturers.

Global health advocates are calling for the immediate redistribution of stockpiled vaccines to regions in urgent need, to spark ambition in the global response.

Mohga Kamal-Yanni, Policy co-lead for the People’s Medicines Alliance, said: “The mpox crisis is in Africa but the stockpiled doses are miles away in rich countries. So far, prices have been far too expensive and will quickly exhaust the funds of international agencies like Gavi. More are expected, especially for children, but with less than a week left of the year, only a fraction of the vaccines promised to Africa have arrived.”

In November, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved the LC16 vaccine, produced by Japanese company KM Biologics, as the only vaccine authorised for children. This is particularly important given that children under the age of 5 continue to be the main group dying from mpox. Although Japan announced a donation of 3 million doses with their specific syringes, the first supplies are only now starting to arrive in the DRC, while discussions are still ongoing about supplying other African countries affected by the crisis.

Amidst vaccine scarcity and high prices, several countries and health authorities are being forced to pursue conservative vaccination plans that do not measure up to what is actually needed. With bolder commitments by rich countries to provide more vaccines, African countries could undertake more ambitious mpox strategies and responses.

The majority of mpox cases and deaths are occurring in the DRC. However, countries are being hampered in detecting and confirming infections because they are lacking the means to adequately diagnose them. Producers are charging around $20 per individual mpox test — this is nearly equivalent to the DRC’s total annual healthcare budget per person.

Dr Samuel Mangala, Oxfam Field Coordinator in Equator province, said: “The situation here in the DRC is unfathomable. Every day, we are seeing children die. In my area, we have not yet seen a vaccine.

“We can only ask why are vaccines being hoarded elsewhere when the virus is here, killing people here, killing children here?”

Advocates argue that the price of these tests should be cut to $5 which would still allow the company to profit. Diagnostics should also be made far more accessible. The DRC’s capacity to diagnose cases is so restricted that only 20 mpox cases have actually been confirmed by laboratory tests.

Peter Maybarduk, Access to Medicines Director at Public Citizen, said: “Once again, people’s health is put at risk by pharmaceutical companies with power to decide who gets what product, when and at what price.

“If we make vaccines affordable and widely available, countries will be able to pursue more aggressive strategies to stamp out pandemic threats. Health agencies will be able to plan with ambition. Protecting public health requires stopping outbreaks at their source and putting health before profit.”

Currently, governments are negotiating a Pandemic Agreement with the WHO to ensure effective preparedness, prevention and response to future health crises. However, high-income countries are opposing legally binding measures that are the basis for equity, including equitable product sharing, technology transfer, fair sharing of benefits arising from sharing pathogens and removing IP barriers. This has thrown negotiations into deadlock.

Without such measures, the mpox outbreak may become yet another example of avoidable tragedy in global health.

Notes to editors

According to WHO, as of 6 November 2024, 899,000 vaccine doses have been allocated for nine African countries. This is the latest official information on the allocation of mpox vaccine doses. https://www.who.int/news/item/06-11-2024-vaccine-doses-allocated-to-9-african-countries-hardest-hit-by-mpox-surge

According to Africa CDC, the Japanese company KM Biologics has started to deliver the first of the 3 million pledged LC16 vaccine doses to the DRC.

The company is still negotiating liability issues with other African countries. Based on official and media reports, the People’s Medicines Alliance estimated that so far the number of doses delivered in Africa is around 1 million, which is 10 per cent of what Africa CDC says was needed by 2025 to handle the outbreak.

At Bavarian Nordic’s Annual General Meeting earlier this year, the company said it had produced 10 million doses in the last 2 years (AGM minutes, p.3). KM Biologics has released no recent information, but a 2022 WHO document disclosed that the company had produced approximately 200 million doses. For this analysis, the People’s Medicines Alliance has estimated that these figures together comprise the current total supply of mpox vaccines suitable for use in Africa (210 million).

At $65 per dose, Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine, Jynneos (MVA-BN), is the second-most expensive vaccine that UNICEF distributes, according to the Public Citizen findings. After Jynneos, all other UNICEF vaccines are priced under $27, with the lowest price listed at 18 cents for tetanus and diphtheria shots. In October 2024, twelve health advocacy organizations sent a letter to Bavarian Nordic CEO Paul Chaplin urging the company to increase UNICEF’s supply from one million to four million doses under its current deal, without additional charge, cutting the effective price to $16.25 per dose. The organizations also urged Bavarian Nordic to lower the price of Jynneos for all low- and middle-income countries and to release its vaccine technology to local manufacturers to support sustainable access. After months of enquiry by advocates and news outlets, Bavarian Nordic has still not explained its pricing practices. https://www.citizen.org/article/fact-sheet-expanding-access-to-mpox-vaccines-through-affordable-transparent-pricing/

In November 2024, dozens of health groups called for lowering the price of the mpox diagnostic test from $20 to $5 per test for supply to African countries including the DRC, the epicenter of the mpox emergency. The groups argue that the DRC, one of the world’s poorest nations, spends just $22 per person on health care annually — nearly the same cost as a single $20 test. Estimated production costs suggest each test could be sold at a profit for $5. Producers have not so far lowered test prices or published the results of an audit of test costs. https://www.citizen.org/news/health-groups-urge-cepheid-and-danaher-to-lower-price-of-mpox-tests-for-african-countries/

At a media briefing hosted by Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on 5 December 2024, Dr Jean Kaseya, Africa CDC Director-General confirmed that testing remains a challenge in the DRC, with only 20 per cent of cases confirmed by laboratories.

https://healthpolicy-watch.news/drc-expects-diagnosis-of-disease-x-by-weekend-mpox-continues-to-spread/

Just twelve aid trucks of food and water into the North Gaza Governorate in 2.5 months 

December 23, 2024

Barefoot children forced to search through rubbish for food scraps across Gaza

Of the meagre 34 trucks of food and water given permission to enter the North Gaza Governorate over the last 2.5 months, deliberate delays and systematic obstructions by the Israeli military meant that just twelve managed to distribute aid to starving Palestinian civilians. For three of these, once the food and water had been delivered to the school where people were sheltering, it was then cleared and shelled within hours.

Oxfam and other international humanitarian agencies have been continually prevented from delivering lifesaving aid in the North Gaza Governorate since 6 October when Israel escalated its military siege of Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, bar an extremely limited amount of stock already stored there.

Thousands of people are estimated to still be cut off, but with humanitarian access blocked it’s impossible to know exact numbers. At the beginning of December, humanitarian organisations operating in Gaza were receiving calls from vulnerable people trapped in homes and shelters that had completely run out of food and water.

From 6 October, Israel has permitted just 34 UN trucks of food and water to enter the North Gaza Governorate. A convoy of 11 trucks last month was initially held up at the holding point by the Israeli military at Jabalia, where some food was taken by starving civilians. After the green light to proceed to the destination was received, the trucks were then stopped further on at a military checkpoint. Soldiers forced the drivers to offload the aid in a militarised zone, which desperate civilians had no access to.

The following week, Israel permitted 14 more trucks. Due to the delay in receiving the final authorisation from the Israeli authorities, only three trucks were able to enter. They carried ready-to-eat rations, wheat flour and water and reached the intended destination of Mahdia al-Shawa school in Beit Hanoun where displaced families were sheltering. While the aid was distributed, within hours soldiers and quadcopters fired on the school and people were ordered to leave. The next day the Israeli military returned and shelled the school, burning down the buildings.

On 20 December, Israel finally permitted a further 9 UN trucks to deliver food and water to an aid distribution point in Beit Hanoun, where civilians sheltering in schools were able to collect it. People said that they were barely surviving and had so little to eat, they were eating leaves.

Last month the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned that there is a strong likelihood that famine is already occurring in the north and the risk of famine persists across the whole of Gaza. People are being pushed to unimaginable, desperate measures to survive. Children and women are searching through piles of rubbish for food scraps, bare-handed and often barefoot, risking disease and injury from sharp metal and exposed to the threat of unexploded bombs. Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees in the world with the healthcare system decimated and little critical supplies, including anaesthetic.

Sally Abi-Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East and North Africa Director said:

“The situation in Gaza is apocalyptic and people are trapped, unable to find any kind of safety. The absolute desperation of having no food or shelter for your family in the biting cold of winter. It is abhorrent that despite international law being so publicly violated by Israel and starvation being used relentlessly as a weapon of war, world leaders continue to do nothing.

“Gaza has been widely destroyed and the entire population is suffering. The public sector has collapsed and the humanitarian system is on its knees. We plead with the entire international community – stop this, now. You have the diplomatic and economic levers to make Israel stop. Every day that passes without a ceasefire is a death sentence for hundreds more civilians.”

Constant shelling also continues in the north – the Palestinian Civil Defence (PCD) estimates that more than 2,700 people have been killed in the North Gaza governorate since the siege. The bodies of half of those killed have not been able to be recovered and more than 10,000 have been injured.

Around 130,000 people have now been forcibly displaced from the North Gaza Governorate, 70 per cent – 91,000 – are women and girls, who are trying to survive in abandoned buildings and overcrowded shelters in Gaza City. The mass displacement of people has further strained resources and complicated aid delivery in already dire conditions.

Across Gaza, aid deliveries continue to be blocked, deliberately hampered and targeted by Israel’s military. All crossings are barely functional, with only Erez West (Zikim) operating with any consistency. Oxfam staff said this week that humanitarian access everywhere is at an all-time low. Winter weather conditions are expected to affect more than 1.6 million people living in makeshift shelters, including half a million in flood-prone areas. The UN reported that so far, only 23 per cent of displaced people across the Gaza Strip have received support to help protect them from the rain and cold, leaving over 900,000 people at risk of exposure.

People have told Oxfam about trying to survive with their families amidst crippling hunger. A man who was forced to evacuate with his family from Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of Gaza with little notice last week said “Adults tell the kids not to play so they don’t get dizzy. One pack of biscuits is all we have for 15 grandchildren. We need shelter but a simple plastic tarpaulin costs $180 and we would need at least five to make a basic tent. There’s no chance of light or power. We’re doing everything we can, but it’s not enough.”

Soaring food prices and scarcity across Gaza mean that people are no longer able to buy food by the kilogram, for example buying a single tomato or green pepper for their family. An Oxfam staff member described how the entire family searched Deir al-Balah for one egg to try and provide calcium for a relative with a broken bone. The egg cost nearly $6. Only five bakeries out of nineteen are operational, and many people are risking their lives in overcrowded queues, sometimes waiting from as early as 3 am just to secure basic supplies.

Oxfam is demanding an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages and unlawfully detained Palestinians. The obstruction of humanitarian aid efforts must end, with protection of civilians and unhindered access for all lifesaving aid to the Gaza Strip, including the North Gaza Governorate. Palestinians must be given the freedom to move home, rebuild, and live in peace and dignity, free of occupation or blockade.

Notes to editors

Please note that the original version of this story stated that just three UN trucks had managed to distribute food and water within the North Gaza Governorate, which was correct when the release went out on 19th December, under embargo for 23rd December. On 21st December, Oxfam was informed that an additional nine UN trucks of food and water were allowed in on Friday 20th December. None were planned for Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd. Even though 12 trucks of food and water in 2.5 months is still wholly inadequate, for accuracy, we have amended the headline and included this detail within the release.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed that since 6 October to 16 December 2024 (most up-to-date figures available), the UN and partners have tried to coordinate 137 missions to the North Gaza Governorate. More than 90 per cent – 124 – were denied outright. Two were approved; the UN World Food Programme (WFP) convoy of 11 trucks carrying food and water on 7 November and the WFP convoy of 14 trucks – of which only three were able to enter – on 11 November. The other 11, all medical evacuation/assessment missions at Kamal Adwan Hospital, were approved but one could not reach the hospital due to military activity and the rest all faced impediments along the way.
The Mahdia al-Shawa school was shelled by the Israeli military on 12 November
The OCHA flash update on 10 December confirmed there were still 65-75,000 people still in the North Gaza Governorate. This number is thought to be significantly lower now, but due to access restrictions, no accurate estimates are available
A Protection Cluster report on 2 December detailed how vulnerable people were calling protection charities operating in Gaza and women and children are being forced to increasingly resort to searching piles of rubbish barefoot and without gloves for food scraps
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) prohibits the use of starvation as a method of warfare. As the occupying power in Gaza, Israel is bound by IHL to provide for the needs and protection of the population of Gaza. In 2018, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2417, which unanimously condemned the use of starvation against civilians as a method of warfare and declared any denial of humanitarian access a violation of international law.

Israel’s forced displacement orders in Lebanon may constitute grave breaches of International Humanitarian Law, say aid agencies.

December 20, 2024

The 136 forced displacement orders Israel imposed on 25 per cent of Lebanon during its 62 – day war were woefully inadequate, unnecessarily dangerous and likely illegal, aid agencies said today.

These orders, which Israel called evacuations, either targeted defined locations, were mass orders that encompassed entire villages, neighbourhoods and towns, or vague directives on nonspecific areas that collectively forced 1.4 million people to flee their homes to overcrowded shelters, and some onto the streets, as nearly every governate in Lebanon came under attack.

In a joint report released today, Forced Displacement Orders: Debunking the Myth of Humane Attacks, ActionAid and Oxfam reveal that so-called evacuation orders between September 23rd and October 31s may amount to a campaign of forcible transfer— a grave breach of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The report highlights how these displacements were neither legitimate nor safe, leaving families without shelter or protection and raising serious concerns about potential war crimes.

The report found the orders were impossible to comply with and triggered waves of mass displacement that failed to meet all standards of IHL which demands effective advance warnings that are clear, targeted, and give sufficient time to allow people to leave safely, as well as a timeline for them to return home.

Out of the 3334 air strikes Israel conducted from Sept 23 to Oct 31st, only 117 (3.5 per cent) area specific forced displacements orders were issued. On average, the orders were sent with only 15-45 minutes warning before a strike, with the majority issued in the middle of the night between 10pm and 4am.

“The chaos, destruction, and disruption caused by these displacements will continue to affect the most vulnerable communities long after the ceasefire,” said Oxfam Lebanon Country Director Bachir Ayoub.

“Entire communities—many already among the most vulnerable, including Syrian and Palestinian refugees and migrant workers—were uprooted from their homes and thrust into life-threatening conditions. Thousands, already struggling, saw their vulnerabilities deepen, pushing them to the brink. Many were forced to seek refuge into places where privacy, sanitation, and safety were severely inadequate, putting women and girls at heightened risk of gender-based violence. Essential services like clean water and healthcare have been damaged, while the disruption of schooling has deprived tens of thousands of children of their basic right to education.”

Sudipta Kumar, ActionAid’s Regional Director for the Arab Region, said: “The impact of these attacks by Israeli forces will be felt for many years to come. After the ceasefire, thousands of families returned to their towns and villages to find their homes reduced to wreckage. Many have been left with nothing and cannot afford to rebuild.

“The only way to protect people in Lebanon from further upheaval is to agree an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Lebanon and in Gaza. Until then, families in Lebanon will continue to live in fear that bombs could start dropping on their homes again at any moment.”

Forced displacement is prohibited under IHL, and evacuation is only lawful when civilian safety and well-being are guaranteed, including access to shelter, hygiene, health services, food, and family unity. The agencies found that Israel’s displacement orders in Lebanon failed to meet these conditions, offering no adequate provisions for civilian welfare. As a result, these actions constitute a grave breach of IHL and show blatant disregard for civilian safety.

To ensure that the tens of thousands of civilians still unable to return home can rebuild their lives—and to preserve Lebanon’s fragile peace—the agencies call for all efforts to ensure the current ceasefire agreement in Lebanon holds, an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza is reached with all violations condemned and urgently addressed. As well the as immediate and safe return of displaced people in South Lebanon.

The international community must halt the transfer of weapons and military equipment where there is a risk they will be used to commit further IHL violations and hold all parties accountable for any IHL violations to ensure civilians, regardless of their location or circumstances, are protected.

Notes to editors

Download Oxfam’s report Forced Displacement Orders: Debunking the Myth of Humane Attacks

Oxfam condemns Russia’s third large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent weeks

December 13, 2024

Ukrainians woke up to missile warnings and the sound of explosions today as Russia launched multiple attacks across the country early in the morning, once again targeting the country’s energy facilities leaving half of the country’s population without electricity. This is the third large-scale attack on Ukraine’s power grid in recent weeks. Oxfam warns of the impact on Ukraine’s civilian population.

“Oxfam condemns Russia’s massive attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this morning affecting millions of civilian populations in Ukraine.

“Russia’s systemic attack on Ukraine’s vital infrastructure since the start of the conflict has more than halved the country’s energy capacity, leaving people to cope without essential services like water, communications, and heating. The situation is expected to get worse in the coming months as Ukrainians brace for what is expected to be the toughest winter since the war escalated in 2022.

“Attacks on critical civilian infrastructure are against International Humanitarian Law and we reiterate the call for all warring parties to respect IHL and protect all civilians, including infrastructure that is crucial for their survival.”

Oxfam says: COP29 deal is a “global Ponzi scheme”

November 25, 2024

Responding to the COP29 climate finance agreement, in which rich countries agree to mobilize $300 billion a year to help Global South countries cope with warming temperatures and switch to renewable energy, Oxfam International’s Climate Change Policy Lead, Nafkote Dabi, said:

“The terrible verdict from the Baku climate talks shows that rich countries view the Global South as ultimately expendable, like pawns on a chessboard. The $300 billion so-called ‘deal’ that poorer countries have been bullied into accepting is unserious and dangerous —a soulless triumph for the rich, but a genuine disaster for our planet and communities who are being flooded, starved, and displaced today by climate breakdown. And as for promises of future funding? They’re just as hollow as the deal itself.”

Oxfam Aotearoa’s Climate Justice Lead Nick Henry said: “The failure to meet the global need for climate finance is a failure of empathy from the leaders of rich countries.”

“New Zealand’s climate grants are an essential lifeline for our Pacific region and a positive example of public grants, not debt. Our government needs to continue ramping up this finance to at least meet our fair share of the new global goal.”

Oxfam International’s Climate Change Policy Lead, Nafkote Dabi continues, “The money on the table is not only a pittance in comparison to what’s really needed –it’s not even real “money”, by and large. Rather, it’s a motley mix of loans and privatized investment –a global Ponzi scheme that the private equity vultures and public relations people will now exploit. The destruction of our planet is avoidable, but not with this shabby and dishonorable deal. The richest polluters need to wise up —and pay up.”

Contact information

Rachel Schaevitz in Auckland, NZ | [email protected] | 027 959 5555
Jeshua Hope in Suva, Fiji | [email protected] | +679 7500889

COP29 must deliver more than “threadbare promises”

November 22, 2024

In response to the latest climate finance draft text at COP29, Oxfam International’s Climate Justice Lead, Safa’ Al Jayoussi, said:

“COP29 must do more than simply repeat the same threadbare promises. Rich countries have spent decades now stalling and blocking genuine progress on climate finance. This has left the Global South suffering the most catastrophic consequences of a climate crisis they did not create. The draft text scandalously misses the crucial element of declaring a clear public commitment to a new climate finance goal.

“Rich countries, those most responsible for climate chaos, owe $5 trillion in annual climate debt and reparations. This funding must come as grants-based public financing to help communities that need it the most mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and recover from loss and damage. Anything less will simply be a failure.

“This is not charity – it is an established obligation under international law. It is the bare minimum needed to shield frontline communities from devastation, allow them to rebuild after disasters pass, and ensure their just transition to a sustainable future. The next few days are a credibility test for these climate negotiations and for COP itself. The time for stalling is over. If rich countries don’t deliver, they will go down in history as having chosen profit over people and complacency over courage.”

Notes to editors

Rich countries continue to resist calls for climate reparations. Climate activists are demanding the Global North provide at least $5 trillion a year in public finance to the Global South.

Contact information

Rachel Schaevitz in Auckland, NZ I [email protected]

Jeshua Hope in Suva, Fiji | [email protected] | +679 7500889