Nigeria halts mpox vacccination campaign amid 500% case surge in Africa
Nigeria has suspended its planned Mpox vaccination campaign as Africa grapples with a staggering 500% increase in confirmed Mpox cases this year, compared to 2023.
According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the outbreak is still on the rise, with 19 countries reporting over 48,000 possible cases and 1,048 deaths. Central Africa bears the brunt, accounting for 86% of cases and 99.5% of deaths.
“The situation is not yet under control, we are still on the upward trend generally,” warned Ngashi Ngongo from Africa CDC.
Mauritius has become the 19th country affected, while vaccination rates in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have reached 100%. However, access to child-friendly vaccines remains a challenge.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Mpox a global health emergency in August after a new strain, clade Ib, spread from the DRC to neighboring countries and European nations, including Sweden, Germany, and Britain.
Experts caution that Mpox could become another sexually transmitted pandemic, potentially more severe than COVID-19. “We need to continue mobilizing political engagement and financial support to control the outbreak,” Ngongo emphasized.
