To control the growing threat of the Mpox virus, the Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) for Mpox has allocated 899,000 vaccine doses to Nigeria and eight other African countries with high infection rates.
This was revealed in a joint statement by the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.
AAM is a framework administered by the World Health Organization (WHO) that was created to ensure equitable access to vaccines, treatments and other health resources during public health emergencies, particularly for countries with the greatest need.
According to the Africa CDC, the decision to approve the vaccine allocation was made by the AAM in collaboration with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), WHO and the Fund. of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). .
The parties approved the allocation of vaccines after receiving recommendations from an independent Technical Review Committee of the Continental Incident Management Support Team for mpox.
The Africa CDC said the selection was based on the country's preparedness and epidemiological data.
“The decision is intended to ensure that limited doses are used effectively and fairly, with the overall goal of controlling outbreaks,” the statement reads in part.
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In addition to Nigeria, the other worst-affected African countries that will receive the vaccine are the Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Congo will receive 85 percent
As the country with the highest infection rate, 85 percent of vaccine doses will be allocated to Congo, where the threat of the Clade 1b virus, a new but more dangerous strain of Mpox, is high.
According to the WHO, the Democratic Republic of the Congo reports between 200 and 300 confirmed cases of Mpox weekly. Africa has so far reported around 38,000 suspected cases of Mpox, with more than 1,000 deaths, most of them in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The rise of the Clade 1b smallpox strain in Congo and neighboring countries led the World Health Organization to declare it a public health emergency of international concern in mid-August.
The Africa CDC classified it as a continental public health safety emergency.
According to the latest data from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Nigeria has reported 1,339 suspected cases in 67 local governments across the country.
In its statement, the Africa CDC said vaccines are recommended as part of a comprehensive strategy to combat Mpox, along with timely testing and diagnosis and effective clinical care.
More vaccines expected
The African CDC also revealed that the AAM is expected to receive 5.85 million vaccine doses along with the 899,000 doses allocated to the nine countries by the end of the year.
The vaccine rollout will target people at high risk of infection, such as contacts of confirmed cases, healthcare workers, frontline staff and key at-risk populations in areas with active human-to-human transmission.
The first phase of vaccination, scheduled until the end of 2024, will target 1.4 million people at risk of infection.
According to the Africa CDC, the initial 2.8 million vaccine doses will be allocated to this effort.
“To protect more at-risk people in affected communities, as additional vaccine doses become available. It is aimed at people at high risk of severe disease (based on local epidemiology) in affected areas, focusing on regions with the highest incidence of Mpox.
“Special attention will be paid to vulnerable populations, including those living with HIV, internally displaced persons and refugees, due to their increased risk of serious consequences,” the statement read.