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An initial 899,000 vaccine doses have been allocated to nine countries in Africa hit hard by the current MPox wave, WHO and other health organizations say.
The WHO declared mpox a global public health emergency in August for the second time in two years after a new variant of the virus, called clade Ib, spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighboring countries.
In September, after facing criticism for moving too slowly on vaccines, the World Health Organization cleared Bavarian Scandinavian vaccine for mpox and said it was considering LC16, made by Japan's KM Biologics, as a potential vaccine option.
The WHO has also launched a plan to bring MPOX vaccines, tests and treatments to the most vulnerable people in the world's poorest countries, similar to efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The global health agency said on Wednesday that the newly allocated vaccines will go to the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
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The largest number of doses – 85 percent of the allocated vaccines – will go to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the hardest-hit country, the WHO said.
The allocated vaccines come from European countries, the United States, Canada and Gavi, a public-private alliance that co-finances vaccine purchases for low-income countries.
According to the latest WHO figures, there have been more than 46,000 confirmed and suspected cases of MPOX in Africa this year, and more than 1,000 deaths on the continent due to the viral disease.
