Nov 6 (Reuters) - An initial 899,000 vaccine doses have

been allocated for 9 countries across Africa that have been hit

hard by the current mpox surge, the WHO and other health

organisations said on Wednesday.

The WHO declared mpox a global public health emergency for

the second time in two years in August after a new variant of

the virus, called clade Ib, spread from the Democratic Republic

of Congo to neighbouring countries.

In September, after facing criticism on moving too slowly on

vaccines, the World Health Organization cleared Bavarian

Nordic's ( BVNKF ) vaccine for mpox and said it was considering

LC16, made by Japan's KM Biologics as a potential vaccine

option.

The WHO also set up a scheme to help bring mpox vaccines,

tests and treatments to the most vulnerable people in the

world's poorest countries, similar to efforts during the

COVID-19 pandemic.

The global health agency said on Wednesday the newly

allocated vaccines will go to the Central African Republic,

Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Liberia,

Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.

The largest number of doses - 85% of the allocated vaccines

- will go to the Democratic Republic of Congo as the most

affected country, the WHO said.

The allocated vaccines are from European countries, the

United States, Canada and Gavi, a public-private alliance that

co-funds vaccine purchases for low-income countries.

According to the latest WHO figures, there have been more

than 46,000 confirmed and suspected cases of mpox in Africa this

year, and more than 1,000 deaths in the continent due to the

viral illness.