By Camillus Eboh
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria has received 10,000 doses of the mpox vaccine from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the first batch of the vaccine to reach the country which has confirmed 40 cases with no fatalities so far.
Muyi Aina, executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), called the donation a “critical step” for Nigeria.
“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 that are available globally,” Aina said in a statement
The Nigerian government has decided to prioritize five states to receive the vaccines including Bayelsa, Edo, Cross-River and Lagos, according to USAID’s statement.
NHPCDA has not yet said when the vaccines would be distributed or who would be prioritised for treatment.
“We encourage the Government of Nigeria to continue to mobilize domestic resources to secure more vaccines to combat mpox,” U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills said at the handover ceremony of the vaccines to the Nigerian government.
(Writing by Ope Adetayo; Editing by David Holmes)
