DAKAR, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Africa has secured less than

10% of the estimated $245 million it needs to fight a surging

mpox outbreak on the continent, a senior official from the

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)

said on Wednesday.

The continent is under pressure to curb an outbreak of the

potentially deadly infection that the World Health Organization

declared to be a global health emergency in mid-August, after a

new strain began proliferating from Democratic Republic of Congo

to neighbouring countries.

Africa CDC has pulled together a budget to determine the

amount of money available for the mpox response and the

resources it needs to mobilise.

"We've come to the first estimate of $245 million," Africa

CDC Chief of Staff Ngashi Ngongo said at a WHO meeting in the

Republic of Congo's capital Brazzaville.

Democratic Republic of Congo's government has committed $10

million to support the fight against the outbreak while the

African Union has approved $10.4 million, Ngongo said.

Therefore, about $20 million is currently available for the

response, he said, adding that these figures would be updated.

"The current gap where we stand today is about $224 million

that we are looking for," he said.

Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC, said during the

meeting that the organisation was moving towards securing almost

1 million doses of mpox vaccine.

Those include 215,000 doses from vaccine maker Bavarian

Nordic ( BVNKF ), 100,000 doses from France, almost 100,000

doses from Germany and about 500,000 doses from Spain.

There is no timeline yet on when the vaccines might reach

the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is the most affected by

the virus.

Mpox, a viral infection that causes pus-filled lesions and

flu-like symptoms, is usually mild but can kill.