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The ongoing mpox outbreak has recently passed one year since the WHO declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 14 August 2024. It is also over a year since the national mpox outbreak was declared and the new clade Ib was reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and 3 years since the first PHEIC was declared in 2022. Despite international efforts to ensure availability and access to medical countermeasures within the first 100 days of an epidemic or pandemic threat being identified, that moment passed without children—those most at risk of death from this outbreak—being included in the vaccine rollout in the most affected region.