The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has issued an emergency tender to secure mpox vaccines for crisis-hit countries in collaboration with the Gavi vaccine alliance, Africa CDC and the World Health Organization, the organizations said in a joint statement on Saturday.

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.

This will enable UNICEF to purchase and ship vaccines without delay, once financing, demand, readiness and regulatory requirements are confirmed, Reuters reported.

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.

The statement added that WHO is reviewing information submitted by manufacturers on Aug. 23, and expects to complete a review for an emergency use listing by mid-September.

The agency is reviewing applications for emergency licences for two vaccines made by Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.CO), opens new tab and Japan’s KM Biologics, read the report.

Earlier in August, the WHO declared mpox a global public health emergency following an outbreak of the viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo that spread to neighbouring countries.

More than 18,000 suspected cases of mpox have been reported in 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.

The Ministry of Public Health has announced that no suspected or positive cases of monkey pox have been registered in Afghanistan.

After receiving reports about two suspected cases of monkey pox in Kabul and Paktia, officials say that no suspected or positive cases of this disease have been registered in Afghanistan.

Sharaf Zaman Amarkhel, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, said on Tuesday that the ministry will announce it if there is a suspected or positive case of monkeypox.

Earlier, a number of media, citing health sources, reported that two suspected cases of monkey pox were detected in Kabul and Paktia.

The officials of the Ministry of Public Health announced nearly a week ago that they are trying to prevent the spread of the disease.

So far, cases of monkeypox have been recorded in Pakistan, Sweden and Africa.

The World Health Organization recently declared the outbreak of monkey pox a health emergency and said that the new strain of this virus is spreading.

The Ministry of Public Health on Thursday announced that the technical committee to fight and prevent mpox virus met under the leadership of deputy minister for health services, Abdul Wali Haqqani.

Directors of the Ministry of Public Health, and representatives of World Health Organization (WHO), the UN agency for children UNICEF, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) were also present at the meeting.

According to the Ministry of Public Health’s statement, the participants of the meeting discussed and exchanged views on the preparation of the list of duties for the technical team, the definition of mpox, and the necessary measures to prevent the virus in the country.

The Deputy Minister of Public Health appointed the teams to work together on the preparation of the list of duties and the definition of mpox, and present it for approval in the next week’s meeting.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has already declared a global health emergency in response to the widening mpox outbreak. The virus, which can be fatal in some cases, is known to spread through close contact and is particularly concerning given its potential to escalate into a pandemic.