Rwanda has started the first mpox vaccination campaign in Africa. This is a big step in fighting the disease on the continent.
By Tuesday, Rwanda gave 300 vaccine doses to people at high risk in an area near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Jean Kaseya, who leads the Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC), said we need to stop the outbreak quickly.
“We must stop this outbreak very fast,” Kaseya said.
He also mentioned the need to make vaccines locally. “We are working closely with our manufacturers and partners to make sure these vaccines are made in Africa,” he said.
The Rwandan Ministry of Health gave the vaccines first to health workers, people who work at the border, hotel staff, and others at high risk.
The DRC is the center of the mpox outbreak in Africa. In the last week, they reported 2,912 new cases and 14 deaths. Since January, there have been 6,105 cases and 738 deaths.
The DRC plans to start giving vaccines in early October. They have 165,000 doses already, with more promised by European countries.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), asked for the world to work together to stop mpox.
“We need international help to stop the virus from spreading,” Ghebreyesus posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Other African countries, like Nigeria, have also received vaccine donations.
In August, the United States gave Nigeria 10,000 mpox vaccine doses through USAID to help fight the outbreak.