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💥 Take Quick Action! Opportunities to create impact with a quick action are marked with a 💥 throughout the Playbook!
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- Situation report. The WHO mpox dashboard (as of Oct. 6) reports an increase of 770 confirmed cases in the past week, bringing the total to 7,524 confirmed cases and 32 deaths across 16 African countries in 2024. Ghana reported its first mpox cases, although the clade has not been shared. The latest WHO multi-country external situation report highlights the ongoing need for effective response among the most vulnerable populations as nearly a third of reported confirmed cases were found in camps for internally displaced people and 75% of cases are in children.
- Vaccines progress. Mpox vaccination campaigns officially kicked off in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) — the outbreak’s epicenter — on Oct. 5. The campaign started in eastern DRC’s North Kivu province and will expand through the most-affected provinces, targeting first health workers and frontline responders, close contacts of confirmed cases, and other at-risk groups. The DRC received 265,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccines so far, but more doses are needed as mpox continues to spread throughout the country and some studies suggest waning vaccine antibody responses within a year of vaccination. Experts, including Africa CDC’s Dr. Nicaise Ndembi and Unicef’s Dr. Douglas Noble, underscored vaccinations' role as just one response tool, saying that vaccines alone are not “silver bullets.” To support vaccine rollout, WHO prepared various trainings, vaccine delivery system and infrastructure strengthening, and community engagement measures in advance of the campaign.
- The broader response. In good news, WHO approved the first mpox diagnostic test for emergency use — which will improve access to rapid and reliable testing — and reaffirmed its guidance on the use and safety of mpox vaccines for high-risk groups. Meanwhile, countries are instituting public health messaging and targeted containment policies, such as Uganda’s new school guidelines to prevent mpox spread. The latest Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (AIRA) mpox report highlights the critical and ongoing need to support local actors to mitigate misinformation and the importance of elevating factual messaging via the media. This last week, the number of mpox-related articles decreased by 37%.
- Actions needed! We applaud progress on a coordinated, multifaceted response, but action remains needed. 💥 Mpox vaccine pledges must quickly be turned into delivered vaccines and must get to arms. Support for a holistic mpox response must accelerate and needs to cover the development and roll out of affordable, accessible diagnostics and therapeutics as well as community-level interventions like WASH and public health messaging. And finally, transparency on roles, responsibilities, and bottlenecks in the coordinated continental and global response must increase.
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Moving toward “irreversible climate disaster.” A group of the world's most senior climate experts published the 2024 state of the climate report — a report riddled with harsh, yet blatantly real, language calling (yelling?!) for “bold transformative change.” The report assessed 35 vital signs in 2023 and found that 25 were worse than ever recorded, including carbon dioxide levels and human population, indicating that the “future of humanity hangs in the balance… a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis.” Authors concluded, “In a world with finite resources, unlimited growth is a perilous illusion… Humanity's future depends on our creativity, moral fiber, and perseverance.”
Marburg — “under control, not yet contained.” The Marburg outbreak in Rwanda is now one of the largest on record with 58 confirmed cases and 13 deaths. Of the reported cases, 80% are health care providers. The Rwandan Ministry of Health, together with Africa CDC, and regional and global bodies jumped to action to contain the outbreak. Rwanda’s Health Minister shared that authorities are tracing “every potential contact of the index case” to reduce the risk of wider spread. There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments available; however, WHO is working with the Rwandan government to access candidate vaccines and drugs. This week Sabin Vaccine Institute and Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. made drugs available In Rwanda under clinical trial conditions. Gilead Sciences also donated 5,000 vials of the antiviral drug remdesivir for emergency use; however, the drug is not approved to treat Marburg and “its safety and efficacy against the virus is unknown.” Meanwhile, Rwandan authorities instituted several measures to prevent international spread, including expanded contact-tracing, quarantines, regular testing, and screening at entry and exit points. WHO has requested US$7.7 million from October to December 2024 to support the government response. In the U.S., the CDC issued a health alert to public health departments and clinicians and announced that travelers coming into the U.S. from Rwanda will be screened on arrival. Referencing the Marburg outbreak and the mpox emergency, Africa CDC issued a statement urging, “all countries to refrain from implementing travel bans or movement restrictions targeting African nations.” 💥 Read CEPI’s explainer on the Marburg virus and the latest AIRA Marburg report with recommendations for community engagement and behavior change communications.
More H5N1.
Gamechanger in the HIV pandemic? In response to pressure, Gilead signed agreements with six manufacturers to make and sell generic lenacapavir — a twice yearly injection shown to prevent HIV — in 120 “high-incidence, resource-limited” countries. While progress, the deal reportedly excludes many upper middle-income countries, where 41% of new infections occur. Advocates, including UNAIDS’ Winnie Byanyima stress that the drug “could be a gamechanger,” but only if it is accessible to those in need.
Steps toward unlocking financing.
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The Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health — co-chaired by Mike Bloomberg, Larry Summers, and Mia Mottley — published a report detailing how health excise taxes could generate US$3.7 trillion and prevent 50 million deaths.
Dive into Impact Global Health’s G-FINDER 2024 Landscape of Emerging Infectious Disease Research & Development (EID R&D) Report covering the evolution of EID R&D funding between 2014 and 2022.
ONE launched The Climate Finance Files, a deep dive into how much is actually being spent — compared to claims — to support climate-vulnerable countries.
The Center for Global Development (CGD) published a series of new policy briefs on global health priorities to the incoming European Commission.
The UN Foundation recapped the UN High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance and previewed the next steps.
WHO released its Global Strategic Preparedness, Readiness, and Response Plan to address Aedes-borne diseases, including dengue, Zika, and chikungunya.
Gavi published its 2023 Annual Progress Report, highlights include the prevention of over 1.3 million deaths due to Gavi-supported vaccines.
KFF is tracking the status of the U.S.’ pledges to upcoming multilateral health replenishments, including the Pandemic Fund, WHO, Gavi, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
WHO is calling for experts to join the Technical Advisory Group for the preparedness, prevention, surveillance, and response related to respiratory viruses. Application deadline is Nov. 11.
Johns Hopkins’ Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellowship program is open to applications. Apply by Oct. 16.
CEPI and the Gates Foundation are searching for epidemic modelers to train and mentor researchers addressing national, regional, and global health challenges. Applications close Jan. 15, 2025.
Have something to share with the Network? We accept communications, policy, and advocacy opportunities on a rolling basis.
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Check out CGD's events on the sidelines of the 2024 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings.
Join the upcoming African Community of Practice on Gender and Health webinar on Oct. 23. The conversation will focus on how a gender-just climate transition can transform health systems resilience.
Register for the 2024 Lancet Countdown Report launch on Oct. 30.
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