Nigeria And Eight Other African Nations Receive 899,000 Mpox vaccine doses

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria

In response to the ongoing Mpox outbreak across Africa, an initial allocation of 899,000 vaccine doses has been distributed to nine African countries, including Nigeria, under the Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) for Mpox.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) disclosed this in a joint statement on Thursday, underscoring the urgency to control the spread of the virus across the continent.

The vaccine distribution, conducted in collaboration with affected countries and global health donors, aims to strategically target nations most impacted by Mpox.

The AAM is a coalition led by Africa CDC in partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

This allocation follows recommendations from an independent Technical Review Committee of the Continental Incident Management Support Team for Mpox and considers each country’s readiness to deploy vaccines and epidemiological data.

The nine countries selected to receive the vaccine doses include the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda.

The DRC, being the epicentre of the outbreak with the highest recorded cases, will receive the largest share—85% of the total vaccines distributed. The country has reported approximately four out of every five confirmed Mpox cases in Africa this year, with over 38,000 suspected cases and more than 1,000 deaths reported so far.

The vaccines were sourced through partnerships with Canada, Gavi, the European Union (including contributions from Austria, Belgium, France, and several other EU nations), the European Union Health Emergency Response Authority, and the United States.

The allocation reflects a significant international effort to curb the spread of Mpox, which was declared a public health emergency of international concern by WHO and a continental security emergency by Africa CDC in August.

Africa CDC emphasised that vaccination is essential within a broader response strategy that includes testing, clinical care, infection prevention, and community engagement. Initial vaccination efforts have already begun in the DRC and Rwanda. However, the rollout in most recipient countries will mark their first foray into Mpox immunisation, demanding additional resources and support.

“The partners of the Mpox AAM are mobilising to expand resources and logistical support as more vaccine allocations are expected before the end of the year,” the statement noted.

It added that vaccine availability is projected to reach 5.85 million doses by the close of 2024, comprising contributions from multiple nations, including the European Union, United States, Canada, Gavi, and UNICEF. Japan will also provide an additional 3 million doses of the LC16 vaccine to bolster supplies.

This August, Nigeria had already received 10,000 doses of the Jynneos Mpox vaccine from the United States, further highlighting international cooperation in combating the spread of this disease.