Nearly 800,000 U.S.-funded mpox vaccine doses intended for African nations risk expiry in warehouses, 48 Democratic lawmakers warned Wednesday, urging urgent shipment to avoid waste.
Dozens of Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives have called on the State Department to act swiftly, warning that hundreds of thousands of mpox vaccine doses, meant for Africa, could expire unused. In a letter signed by 48 Democrats and led by Representatives Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Sara Jacobs of California, lawmakers said about 800,000 doses are at risk, with 220,000 still viable if shipped immediately.
"This is a moral, strategic, and public health failure in the making," the letter read.
The U.S. State Department has yet to issue a response.
The vaccines were originally promised to African countries hit hard by the mpox outbreak, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, and Burundi. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern in August 2024, following the spread of a new strain from the DRC.
Mpox, a viral disease that spreads through close contact, causes flu-like symptoms and painful lesions. While usually mild, it can be deadly. The WHO said last month that the crisis remains a global health emergency.
The situation has been further complicated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s sharp cuts to foreign aid. Since beginning his second term six months ago, Trump has downsized international assistance programmes, firing thousands of aid workers and pushing through $8 billion in aid reductions with backing from the Republican-controlled Congress.
Trump argues that the U.S. carries an unfair burden and has called on other nations to contribute more to humanitarian causes.
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A deadly landslide in Sudan’s Darfur region has wiped out an entire village, killing more than 1,000 people and leaving only one survivor, according to the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army.
Last month, I stood in the dusty courtyard of a rural clinic in western Kenya’s port city of Kisumu, watching mothers wait hours under a relentless sun, clutching children weakened by fever, hoping for HIV drugs that were delayed once more
Africa has unveiled a continental emergency preparedness and response plan to tackle cholera from September 2025 to February 2026.
The African Union has endorsed a campaign to end the use of the Mercator map, saying it distorts Africa’s true size and reinforces outdated stereotypes.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
A popular funicular railway car in Lisbon, the Gloria, derailed and crashed on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 18 others.
The UK is gearing up for Exercise Pegasus 2025, its largest pandemic readiness test since COVID-19. Running from September to November, this full-scale simulation will challenge the country's response to a fast-moving respiratory outbreak.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the allegations that Russia was responsible for jamming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's aircraft, labelling them as fake and a product of paranoia.
A series of lightning-induced wildfires swept through parts of two Northern California counties on Wednesday, prompting widespread evacuations and engulfing sections of a historic Gold Rush mining town that once housed thousands of Chinese immigrants.
Egypt and Sudan on Wednesday described Ethiopia’s Nile River dam as a “threat” to their countries, citing serious consequences for water security and regional stability.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has appointed seven new members to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) vaccine expert panel, according to an internal CDC document released on Wednesday.
Guyana's ruling People's Progressive Party (PPP) secured more than double the votes of its closest competitor in the country's general election, positioning it for a parliamentary majority and another term for President Irfaan Ali.
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