By Sola Ogundipe

To combat the spread of Mpox, the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, has donated 10,000 Jynneos vaccines to Nigeria.

At the official handover in Abuja on Tuesday, the Director General of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NHPCDA, Dr. Muyi Aina, said the vaccine distribution will begin immediately, prioritising states with the highest number of cases and frontline healthcare workers.

Aina thanked the US government for their support and pledged to use the vaccines judiciously to save lives and curb the spread of Mpox across Nigeria.

In a related development, the Spanish government said that it will donate 500,000 vaccine doses, equivalent to 20 percent of its total Mpox vaccine reserves, to countries in central Africa experiencing a surge in cases.

While the specific nations receiving the vaccines and the arrival date have not been disclosed, Spain has urged its European Union counterparts to follow suit and donate 20 percent of their Mpox vaccine stockpiles. The statement emphasized that “it makes no sense to stockpile vaccines where there is no problem.”

Both France and Germany have previously announced their plans to donate 100,000 Mpox vaccine doses each to countries affected by the emergency.

Meanwhile, the Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike, has said there are no confirmed cases of Mpox in the state. Speaking in Awka on Tuesday, Obidike revealed that the ministry had activated Emergency Response Teams across all 21 Local Government Areas, LGAs.