Africa health body calls on Trump to honour US vaccine pledges

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DAKAR (Reuters) – Africa’s main public health body said it is seeking assurances that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s administration will provide the funding and mpox vaccines promised by his predecessor.

In September, U.S. President Joe Biden pledged $500 million and 1 million vaccine doses to an mpox response plan led by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which is battling an mpox outbreak on the continent.

While mpox cases continue to spread on the African continent, donors have been slow to translate their promises into money and vaccines needed to accelerate the response, according to Africa CDC.

Asked if Trump’s recent electoral victory could impact U.S. support for African healthcare, Africa CDC Director John Kaseya said he would push the new administration to honour existing promises.

“As we start to discuss with some of the officials … we’ll continue to talk to them and to engage them to fulfil their commitment,” Kaseya told reporters.

“If they don’t do that, the mistrust that we have today in Africa will lead to a major issue between the U.S. and the continent.”

Trump recently said he would let anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. make decisions on U.S. healthcare policy.

The activist who has been criticized for making false medical claims, including that vaccines are linked to autism, said that Trump had promised him control over the FDA, CDC, HHS, and the USDA.

“I’m available to fly and to meet and discuss with them about what Africa needs in the health area and how we can work together,” Kaseya said.

(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)