The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the distribution of about one million doses of mpox vaccine to a number of African countries, as part of its support for equitable and appropriate access to monkeypox vaccines on the continent.
The organisation's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said more than 50,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda had received the mpox vaccine, thanks to donations from the United States and the European Commission.
Ghebreyesus confirmed that the allocation of doses was based on public health needs, particularly in areas where the new variant is widespread.
The announcement came as the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 500 percent increase in monkeypox cases over last year, affecting 19 countries on the continent.
The World Health Organization declared mpox a global health emergency in August last year following the spread of a new strain, clade 1B, and its transmission from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries.
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