Nine African countries hardest hit by the mpox outbreak are set to receive a share of nearly 900,000 vaccine doses to combat the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced.

The countries benefiting from this allocation include the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda.

The Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) is an initiative of the World Health Organization to increase access to mpox vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda have already carried out limited vaccinations.

The outbreak of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries was declared a public health emergency of international concern by WHO and a public health emergency of continental security by Africa CDC in mid-August.

19 countries in Africa have reported mpox cases this year alone, with the disease continuing to spread.

The epicentre of the outbreak remains the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with over 38,000 suspected cases and over 1000 deaths reported this year.

Rich countries have pledged over 3.6 million doses of vaccines for the mpox response.

Source: Africanews