---

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) for mpox has allocated an initial 899,000 vaccine doses to nine countries in the African continent.

The prioritized nations are those worst hit by the mpox outbreak.

This initiative driven by global partners, WHO, and member states who together form the AAM have the objective of curbing the spread of the virus through effective and equitable access to vaccines.

Key statistics

Despite being endemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where over 1000 people have died so far this year, the virus is rapidly growing in importance as a worldwide and continental public health issue.

The current outbreak is broader than any previous outbreak in the DRC, and the virus is now beginning to affect previously unreported countries like Kenya and Côte d'Ivoire.

As of September 2, there have been approximately 367 confirmed mpox cases throughout Southern and Eastern Africa: Burundi (328), South Africa (24), Uganda (7), Rwanda (4), and Kenya (4).

Such growing numbers led the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to declare the Mpox outbreak a public health emergency of continental security.

Details about the allocation

The nine countries earmarked for the jabs are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, the Central African Republic, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda, with the DRC getting the lion’s share (85%) of the allocation.

The distribution was based on recommendations of an independent Technical Review Committee of the Continental Incident Management Support Team for mpox, whose decisions were informed by the nations’ epidemiological data (risk profile) and readiness to roll out vaccination.

---

RELATED: Africa to receive one million mpox vaccines through new UNICEF deal

---

The European Union (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, as well as the European Union Health Emergency Response Authority), Canada, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the United States of America have provided the doses.

It is anticipated that more vaccines will be distributed before the year is up.

Importance of vaccination

Vaccination, particularly in groups considered to be at high risk, has been recommended as a key strategy in fighting the spread of the mpox virus.

Together with efficient testing and diagnosis, clinical care, and infection prevention initiatives, vaccination can be a powerful tool in reducing morbidity and mortality of the disease.

About the Monkeypox virus

Monkeypox is a disease caused by the Mpox virus, a genus of the Orthopoxvirus and having two distinct subtypes referred as genetic clades I and II.

Clade I is endemic in Central Africa, while II in West Africa.

Notably, the ongoing global outbreak is due to the clade II subtype.

Typical symptoms of the disease include mucosal lesions, rash, muscle aches, headache and fever.

Transmission occurs through physical contact with infected humans or animals, as well as contact with infected surfaces.

Currently 2 vaccines have been licensed for use in protection against mpox; Imvamune® and ACAM2000® manufactured by Bavarian Nordic and Emergent Bio Solutions respectively.

---

Did you find this insightful? Subscribe for more.

---