Nigeria has officially commenced its Mpox vaccination strategy, targeting healthcare workers and close contacts of infected individuals in seven states across the country.
The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) announced the vaccination rollout on Monday, declaring, “Vaccination against Monkeypox officially kicked off today! Protecting communities and safeguarding health-one step at a time. Together, we can fight Monkeypox!”
NPHCDA Chief Executive Director, Muyi Aina, provided critical insights into the vaccination strategy.
“For the Mpox vaccine, we’re targeting health workers in facilities where Mpox cases are diagnosed and treated. When there are suspected cases, we refer them to facilities, so the health workers there are getting vaccinated,” he explained.
Aina further elaborated, “But also contacts, immediate contacts of confirmed cases will be vaccinated. We’ve only had just over 100 cases in Nigeria, so it’s not that bad, but when there are people around them when it’s confirmed, they are also eligible for the vaccine.”
The vaccination initiative follows a significant milestone in August when Nigeria received its first batch of 10,000 Mpox vaccine doses from the United States. At the time, Mr. Muyi described the donation as a “critical step for Nigeria.”
Initially, the Nigerian government prioritized five states for vaccine distribution: Bayelsa, Edo, Cross-River, and Lagos. Aina had noted the global vaccine scarcity, stating, “We are aware that the vaccine is not exactly in surplus supply. I believe we’re getting 10,000 of the about 200,000 doses available globally.”
Additional vaccine support is expected through the Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM), which has allocated 899,000 vaccine doses to nine African countries with high infection rates. The World Health Organisation (WHO) framework anticipates receiving 5.85 million vaccine doses for African countries by year-end.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the country has reported 1,339 suspected Mpox cases and 102 confirmed cases across 12 states, including Abuja.
