Nine African countries will receive a significant portion of the nearly 900,000 doses of mpox vaccine, as part of a global effort to combat the ongoing outbreak. The countries set to benefit from the vaccine allocation include the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has reported four out of every five confirmed cases of mpox in Africa this year, will receive 85% of the vaccine doses allocated through the initiative.
The vaccine distribution is part of the Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM), a program led by the World Health Organization (WHO) to improve access to mpox vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tests.
Both the DRC and Rwanda have already begun limited vaccination efforts in response to the outbreak. The DRC, which remains the epicenter of the epidemic, has reported more than 38,000 suspected cases and over 1,000 deaths in 2024.
In mid-August, WHO declared the mpox outbreak in the DRC and surrounding countries a public health emergency of international concern, while the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) labeled it a public health emergency of continental security.
So far, 19 African countries have reported mpox cases this year, with the disease continuing to spread. Rich nations have pledged over 3.6 million doses of vaccines for the global mpox response.
