Rwanda Launches Mpox Vaccination Campaign; Calls for Increased Vaccine Supply in Africa
Newsroom
- Rwanda has launched its mpox vaccination campaign using 1,000 doses donated by Nigeria, targeting high-risk areas near the Congo border.
- Congo, the epicentre of the outbreak, has reported over 6,000 cases and nearly 740 deaths this year. Africa CDC and WHO stress the urgent need for increased vaccine supply and international collaboration.
- There is a call for local vaccine production in Africa, as current supplies are limited with only one manufacturer, Bavarian Nordic A/S, authorized by WHO.
Rwanda Launches Mpox Vaccination Campaign; Calls for Increased Vaccine Supply in Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya – Rwanda has begun its vaccination campaign against mpox, using 1,000 doses provided by Nigeria under a bilateral agreement, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced on Thursday.
The campaign, according to ABC News, which started on Tuesday, targets seven districts with high-risk populations near the Congo border, according to Dr. Nicaise Ndembi from the Africa CDC. Nigeria donated these doses from a total of 10,000 it received from the United States.
Congo remains the epicentre of the outbreak in Africa. In the past week alone, the country has reported 2,912 new mpox cases and 14 deaths, raising the total number of cases to 6,105 with 738 deaths since the start of the year.
“This outbreak must be stopped quickly,” said Africa CDC Director-General Dr. Jean Kaseya.
Rwanda and other nations have now requested more vaccine doses than initially planned, with experts estimating that Africa may need around 10 million doses to control the outbreak. The Japanese government has agreed to provide 3 million doses to Congo, and European countries have pledged hundreds of thousands more.
World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasised the need for global cooperation. “International collaboration and support are crucial to halting the spread of the virus,” he stated on social media.
Congo is set to launch its vaccination campaign in the first week of October, with 165,000 doses already delivered and additional supplies promised by European nations.
Dr. Kaseya also highlighted the need for local vaccine production. “We need vaccines to be manufactured in Africa,” he said. The WHO has recently granted its first authorization for an mpox vaccine for adults, produced by Bavarian Nordic A/S, which allows organizations like Gavi and UNICEF to purchase it. However, with only one manufacturer, supply remains limited.
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