The writer is a science commentator

The lack of international solidarity exposed by the pandemic, particularly after rich countries hogged Covid-19 vaccines, led to cries of “never again”. Never again should vital data and samples be held back in an outbreak; never again should the global south be abandoned by the global north in the quest for money, drugs and vaccines.

In the light of the current monkeypox outbreak, those pledges now look hollow. High-income countries are once again scrambling for vaccines to which African countries have had little access, even though the disease has existed in central and west Africa for decades. Monkeypox is suspected in 70 deaths in Africa this year, while there have been no reported fatalities among the 4,000-plus cases recorded outside the continent. “The place to start any vaccination should be Africa and not elsewhere,” said Ahmed Ogwell, acting head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.