Moussa Niyonkuru, Bujumbura, Burundi, August 28, 2024. (Photo:REUTERS)
Depending on the production capacity of manufacturers, agreements for up to 12 million doses through 2025 can be made, according to the statement. Under the tender, UNICEF will set up conditional supply agreements with vaccine manufacturers, the statement said, adding this will enable the agency to purchase and ship vaccines without delay, once financing, demand, readiness and regulatory requirements are confirmed.

The collaboration - which would also include working with the Vaccine Alliance and the Pan American Health Organization as well as with Gavi, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and WHO - would facilitate donations of vaccines from existing stockpiles in high-income countries.

More than 18,000 suspected cases of mpox have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo so far this year with 629 deaths, while over 150 cases have been confirmed in Burundi, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Sweden and Thailand have confirmed cases of the clade Ib type of the virus, outside of the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries.