A shipment of 11,200 doses of the Mpox vaccine, donated by the United States and facilitated by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is set to arrive in Abuja, Nigeria, today. This delivery is part of a larger agreement signed in November by Gavi to facilitate the donation of 305,000 Mpox vaccine doses to bolster global and regional responses to the outbreak.
According to Gavi’s announcement, the vaccines are targeted at countries experiencing a surge in Mpox cases, which remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
To date, Gavi’s support for the Mpox outbreak has included emergency funding for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and Rwanda, as well as the procurement of 500,000 vaccines and funding for delivery and related expenses.
The current shipment is part of a broader US commitment, announced in September, to donate up to one million doses for the Mpox emergency. The initial 305,000 doses, manufactured by Bavarian Nordic, have been allocated to affected countries under the Access and Allocation Mechanism for Mpox. This initiative is led by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Gavi, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization.
In the first round of allocation, 899,000 doses were designated for nine African nations hit hardest by Mpox. By the end of 2024, nearly six million vaccine doses from various sources are expected to be available.
Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, expressed gratitude to the US for the donations, emphasizing their importance in strengthening the global Mpox response. “These doses, combined with the 500,000 procured through our First Response Fund, and additional pledged doses, will ensure a swift and effective rollout in collaboration with our partners,” she said.