Nigeria, along with eight other African nations, will receive an allocation of 899,000 Mpox vaccine doses through the Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) for Mpox, according to a joint statement by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Thursday. This initiative targets regions most affected by the current Mpox outbreak, aiming to control its spread through effective vaccine deployment.
The AAM’s allocation was approved by key health organizations, including Africa CDC, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO). An independent Technical Review Committee provided guidance based on the epidemiological data and readiness of each country.
The vaccines are allocated to the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda. As the epicenter of the outbreak, the DRC will receive 85% of the doses, given its high case numbers, with over 38,000 suspected cases and more than 1,000 deaths reported this year.
The vaccine doses are funded through partnerships with Canada, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the EU, and the United States, among others. This year, 19 African countries reported Mpox cases, with the DRC experiencing the highest surge in cases linked to the clade Ib viral strain. The WHO declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern, and Africa CDC declared it a continental security emergency in August.
Mpox vaccination is essential to a broader response plan that includes testing, clinical care, and community engagement. Africa CDC noted that targeted vaccination campaigns in the DRC and Rwanda have already begun, with further rollouts expected across the region as part of a coordinated effort to contain the virus.
Before the end of 2024, over 5.85 million Mpox vaccine doses are expected to be available for African nations. This supply includes doses of MVA-BN from the European Union, U.S., and Canada, as well as LC16 vaccines from Japan.