Dakar, Senegal – Africa’s primary health authority, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), is urging U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to fulfill the vaccine and funding promises made by President Joe Biden to support the continent’s mpox response. Biden had pledged $500 million in funding and 1 million mpox vaccine doses to help Africa CDC combat the outbreak spreading across African nations.
With mpox cases rising, Africa CDC reports that critical funding and vaccines have yet to be fully delivered, slowing containment efforts. Africa CDC Director John Kaseya voiced concern that Trump’s administration may alter course on these commitments and said he plans to urge the new U.S. leadership to uphold the previous pledges.
“We’re beginning discussions with officials and will engage them to fulfill their commitments,” Kaseya told reporters. “If they don’t, existing mistrust in Africa could lead to a significant issue in U.S.-Africa relations.”
Trump recently stated that he may give a prominent role in U.S. healthcare policy to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine advocate who has spread false information linking vaccines to autism. Kennedy has said Trump offered him control of the FDA, CDC, HHS, and USDA.
Kaseya expressed his openness to meet with U.S. officials, emphasizing Africa’s pressing healthcare needs and the importance of partnership to address public health challenges.
