Agreements could be concluded for up to 12 million doses by 2025, depending on manufacturers’ production capacity, the organizations said in a joint statement.
Under the tender, UNICEF will enter into conditional supply agreements with vaccine manufacturers, the statement said. This will allow the organization to procure and ship vaccines without delay once funding, demand, readiness and regulatory requirements are confirmed.
Earlier in August, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern after the viral infection broke out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and spread to neighboring countries.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 18,000 suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported in Congo so far this year, with 629 deaths, while more than 150 cases have been confirmed in Burundi.
