Nigeria to Receive 11,200 Doses of Mpox Vaccination

ABUJA- Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is helping to coordinate the United States of America's donation of 11,200 doses of Mpox vaccine, which will arrive in Abuja, Nigeria, today.

This comes after Gavi struck agreements in November to facilitate the donation of 305,000 doses of Mpox vaccine in support of the continental and worldwide response.

This was revealed on Friday on Gavi's website.

According to the statement, vaccines will be sent to nations impacted by the Mpox outbreak, which is still considered a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Additional Gavi Mpox outbreak assistance so far has included emergency money for Rwanda, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 500,000 vaccinations that were directly purchased, and delivery funds. 

“On 24 September, the US announced its intention to donate up to one million doses to support the Mpox emergency and began discussions to donate the first 305,000 through Gavi.

“The doses, manufactured by Bavarian Nordic, have been allocated to affected countries through the Access and Allocation Mechanism for Mpox, led by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Gavi, UNICEF, and the World Health Organisation.

“These doses are part of the 899,000 doses allocated through the AAM first round to nine African countries hardest hit by the Mpox outbreak. Nearly six million vaccine doses from multiple nations and organizations are expected to be available by the end of 2024. This includes 500,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine that Gavi procured utilizing the First Response Fund in September, a month after PHEIC was declared,” the statement partly read.

Commenting on the agreement, Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said, “We thank the US for these donations, which substantially strengthen the global Mpox response. In addition to the 500,000 doses that Gavi procured directly in September through our First Response Fund, working with our donors, we now have legal frameworks in place to facilitate a substantial volume of additional pledged doses, which we will work with our partners to ensure are rolled out as quickly as possible.”