Nigeria has received its first shipment of mpox vaccines, donated by the United States, to combat the ongoing outbreak of the disease. This comes amid a sharp rise in cases across Africa with the Democratic Republic of Congo and East African nations reporting the majority of infections.

The first batch of 10,000 Jynneos vaccine doses aims to strengthen the nation's fight against mpox. Nigeria has already seen more than 40 confirmed and 830 suspected cases in 13 of its states.

The delivery follows the World Health Organization's recent declaration of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, as a global health threat.

U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills says Nigeria is well prepared to use the vaccines.

"And as I mentioned, Nigeria’s government has put together a vaccination plan,” he said. “There's a plan how to use these vaccines effectively, how to make sure we get the most effect out of this 10,000 vaccine donation. So that's very much why Nigeria was chosen to receive this first batch."

Mpox, a rare zoonotic ailment transmitted from animals to humans, has spread across African countries in recent months. As of Monday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported 22,863 mpox cases, with 3,641 confirmed and 19,222 suspected. More than 620 deaths were reported across 13 AU member states.

Nigeria’s primary health care director, Muyi Aina, says health authorities will prioritize states with the most cases for the vaccine rollout.

"We are also going to prioritize states that have had the highest number of cases, many of them are in the south,” he said. “But of course, we are going to have to work with the states to develop state specific plans ... to make sure that the vaccine is appropriately deployed.”

Inoculations should begin soon, although vaccine hesitancy among the public remains a challenge, said WHO’s Nigeria representative, Walter Mulombo.

"It has been used for smallpox and then shown some efficacy with the mpox. We believe we should be informed by science and not amplify misinformation.”

As mpox spreads across Central and West Africa, international partners are increasing support. Germany is looking to donate 100,000 vaccine doses to East Africa, where the outbreak has hit Burundi and Kenya hardest.

Nigeria aims to secure more vaccines despite shortages and delivery delays.

(VOA/PL)