Democratic Republic of Congo has been unable to launch an mpox vaccination campaign in the capital Kinshasa due to a shortage of doses, the country's response leader said, while cases countrywide continue to rise, especially among children.

The World Health Organisation declared mpox a global health emergency in mid-August, after a new strain began spreading from Congo to neighbouring countries.

However, donors have been slow to translate their promises into money and vaccines, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cris Kacita, the head of operations for Congo's mpox control programme, said on Tuesday it had 53,921 doses of vaccine left for use in prisons - where people are at high risk due to squalid conditions - but it needed over 162,000 doses to launch a vaccination programme in the capital.

Daphne Von Buxhoeveden from the EU's Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority said on Wednesday she expected 100,000 vaccine doses to arrive from Germany on Thursday.

Bavarian Nordic's (BAVA.CO), opens new tab spokesperson said 265,000 doses of its mpox vaccine, Jynneos, had been delivered to African countries, adding that 1 million more doses were waiting to be shipped to the continent.

"We are simply waiting for Africa to ask or say where they should be sent," the spokesperson said.

"When some people don't get vaccinated, it can be due to many different reasons. But one thing it's definitely not due to is a lack of vaccines."

Kacita said as well as not knowing when some of the donations were due to arrive, the arrival of vaccines was also delayed by the administrative process, which includes sending an official request, manufacturing, preparing documents and getting import authorisations.

"As long as we don't have the necessary quantity, it's going to be complicated to launch (vaccination) in the 14 health zones," he told Reuters, referring to areas of Kinshasa.

So far, the capital, with nearly 20 million inhabitants, has been less affected than regions elsewhere in the country. Vaccination programmes are under way in six other provinces.

Charity Save the Children said on Wednesday targeted vaccinations were needed to stop the virus spreading rapidly among children.

According to the aid agency's data, suspected cases among children in Congo have increased by over 130% since Aug. 14 to 25,600 from 11,300, as of Nov. 3.

"Children are especially vulnerable to mpox - they explore by touch and taste, don't always understand health guidance, and have weaker immune systems than adults," Katia Vieira de Moraes LaCasse from Save the Children said.

Russia's consumer and health watchdog told Reuters several African and ex-Soviet countries had expressed interest in buying Russia's vaccine against mpox and smallpox.