On Aug. 27, 2026, a global initiative to establish a stockpile of mpox vaccines was launched creating a long-term mechanism to ensure countries have access to vaccines when responding to mpox outbreaks.

Set to begin operations later this month, this new global mpox vaccine stockpile that all countries can access is a resource that was approved by the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) in 2025, and is funded by Gavi and coordinated by the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision. The ICG partners are the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). 

The initiative builds on the Access and Allocation Mechanism established in 2024 during the last mpox Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), and will ensure that countries have timely and equitable access to vaccines for outbreak response. 

Mpox continues to cause outbreaks globally, with two-thirds of reported cases occurring in the African Region. From 1 January 2022 to 31 July 2026, 145 countries and territories reported 190 683 confirmed cases and 529 deaths. Mpox is a viral disease that spreads primarily through close physical contact between people, while animal-to-human transmission continues to occur in parts of Africa, contributing to the ongoing risk of new outbreaks. Mpox can cause severe disease, especially in children and people with suppressed immune systems. By protecting people at risk of infection and severe disease, vaccines help contain mpox outbreaks more quickly, prevent severe illness and save lives.

Mpox is a viral illness that spreads mainly through close physical contact, including sexual contact. The disease can be debilitating and disfiguring, affecting men, women and children in different contexts, and can, in some cases, lead to severe complications and death.