The World Health Organisation and partners on Friday (Sept 13) set up a scheme to help bring mpox vaccines, tests and treatments to the most vulnerable people in the world's poorest countries, similar to efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic, after earlier approving the first shot for the fast-spreading disease.

Both steps should make it easier for badly-hit African countries to access the vaccine, as a new type of the mpox virus spreads from the Democratic Republic of Congo to its neighbours. The WHO has declared the outbreak a global public health emergency.

"Alongside other public health interventions, vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics are powerful tools for bringing the mpox outbreaks in Africa under control," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

He said Covid-19 had shown the need for international collaboration to make access fairer. During the pandemic, many low-income countries were left behind in the global scramble for medical resources, particularly vaccines.

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