The United States plans to donate one million doses of the mpox vaccine to African nations facing an epidemic of the virus, President Joe Biden said Tuesday.
An international emergency was declared by the World Health Organization last month after the surge in cases of a new strain of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to nearby countries.
“We must now move quickly to face (the) mpox outbreak in Africa,” Biden told the UN General Assembly in New York.
“We are ready to commit $500 million to help African countries prevent and respond to mpox and to donate one million doses of mpox vaccine, now.”
Biden called on others to match the pledge and “make this a billion-dollar commitment to the people of Africa.”
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.
It causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, and can be deadly.
A total of 25,093 suspected mpox cases and 723 deaths were reported across the African continent between January and September 8, according to WHO.
