The Access and Allocation Mechanism for Mpox has allocated 899,000 vaccine doses to nine African countries heavily impacted by recent Mpox outbreaks, including Nigeria, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Thursday.
In a joint statement, Africa CDC noted that the allocation, done in collaboration with affected countries and international donors, is aimed at ensuring fair and effective distribution to control the outbreaks.
The AAM principals from Africa CDC, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization approved the allocation based on recommendations from an independent Technical Review Committee.
“This allocation to nine countries marks a significant step towards a coordinated and targeted deployment of vaccines to stop the Mpox outbreaks,” the statement read.
The selected countries 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, which has reported four out of every five laboratory-confirmed Mpox cases on the continent this year, will receive the largest share, 85% of the allocated doses.
These doses have been donated by Canada, Gavi, the European Union and its Health Emergency Response Authority, as well as the United States. Africa CDC and partners highlighted that Mpox, particularly the viral strain clade Ib currently surging in the DRC and nearby regions, was declared a public health emergency by WHO and a security emergency by Africa CDC in mid-August.
“Vaccination is recommended as part of a comprehensive Mpox response strategy, also focusing on timely testing and diagnosis, effective clinical care, infection prevention, and the engagement of affected communities,” the statement continued.
The agency stressed that while vaccination is crucial, implementing targeted vaccination programs will require additional resources, with further vaccine allocations expected by the year’s end.
Currently, over 5.85 million vaccine doses are anticipated to be available to the Mpox Vaccines AAM by the end of 2024.
Noting that this year alone, Mpox cases have spread to 19 African countries, the statement called attention to the importance of continued collaborative efforts in vaccine distribution.
