Researched by Alfa Shaban
Nigeria is the latest West African country to roll out an Mpox vaccination campaign to protect vulnerable populations and strengthen outbreak response mechanisms.
The World Health Organisation Africa Office (WHO AFRO) has announced that the 10-day exercise was to take place across 12 high-burden states, with each of the target group receiving two doses of the vaccine.
Via the phased rollout that started in August, a total of 30,100 vaccine doses are being deployed in the following states: Benue, Edo, Kaduna, Plateau, Ogun, Ondo, Imo, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers, and Cross River.
Who does the campaign target:
- Adults aged 18 plus who have had contact with confirmed mpox cases
- Frontline health workers, including clinicians and lab staff
- Individuals with weakened immune systems
- Persons with high-risk sexual behaviours
However, long before Nigeria, three other English-speaking West African countries had received Mpox vaccines.
RelatedNews
March 2025: Sierra Leone receives vaccine donation from DRC
According to the International Journal on Infectious Diseases (IJID), Sierra Leone confirmed its index case of the recent outbreak on January 10, 2025, following the 2022 global outbreak, and declared a public health emergency three days later.
With respect to vaccination efforts which is a major plank of the Mpox national response strategy, IJID stated: “A major component of the national response is the mpox vaccination campaign launched on March 27, 2025, by the Ministry of Health and the National Public Health Agency (NPHA), with support from WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, Africa CDC, and other partners.
March 2025 – 61,300 doses were procured, targeting healthcare workers, security forces, patient contacts, people living with HIV, university students, and high-risk communities.
On June 26, 2025, Sierra Leone had received a total of 153,000 doses of the mpox vaccine.
“This includes a donation of 20,000 doses from the United Arab Emirates and 75,000 doses from the Democratic Republic of Congo,” the journal said.
More than 40,000 individuals have now been vaccinated across the country.
According to the Africa CDC, as of May 2025, Sierra Leone has been added to “the Incident Management Support Team (IMST) list of the most mpox-hit nations.”
April 2025: Liberia rolls out vaccination
In April 2025, Liberia’s Ministry of Health, with support of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), the WHO AFRO, the Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC), and others launched the Mpox vaccine campaign “to stop the spread of the outbreak.
“The vaccination kicked off in Grand Cape Mount County, targeting contacts of confirmed Mpox cases, health workers and key populations,” WHO Liberia stated in a social media post.
Among the first to receive the vaccine were the Minister of Health, the Director General of
NPHIL and the County Health Officer of Grand Cape Mount.
August 2024 – Ghana receives Mpox vaccines
Ghana’s Ministry of Health, on August 23, 2025, in a social media post, announced the acquisition of 33,600 vaccines to bolster the country’s fight against the spread of Mpox.
Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh disclosed that the vaccines form part of the government’s measures to safeguard the health and well-being of Ghanaians.
He emphasised that the availability of the vaccines marks a significant step in strengthening the nation’s preparedness and response to potential outbreaks. “This is another milestone in safeguarding the health and well-being of our citizens,” the Minister stated.
To date, the vaccine rollout campaign has yet to be announced.
What the World Health Organisation has said about vaccination
The WHO’s Mpox Multi-country External Situation Report no. 57 indicates that West Africa accounts for three of the eight countries currently rolling out Mpox vaccination campaigns.
“Mpox vaccination activities have started in eight countries with MVA-BN vaccine (the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Uganda), most of them are implementing a single-dose strategy targeting population groups at high risk of exposure.”
According to the WHO, vaccines are important because they help prevent infection and slow the spread of Mpox between people. They also help to protect people from severe illness.
Similarities in vaccination rollout interventions
| Nigeria | Sierra Leone | Liberia | |
| Target populations | Adults aged 18 plus who have had contact with confirmed mpox cases Frontline health workers, including clinicians and lab staff Individuals with weakened immune systems Persons with high-risk sexual behaviours | Healthcare workers, Security forces, Patient contacts, People living with HIV, University students, and High-risk communities. | At-risk populations Contacts of confirmed cases, Healthcare workers, and Hotspot communities |
| National Health outfit | National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) | National Public Health Agency (NPHA) | National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) |
| Support of Partners | The World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance. | WHO Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) UNICEF | WHO Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance. |
What is Mpox?
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus. Mpox is an infectious disease that can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain and low energy. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick.
According to the World Health Organisation, there are two distinct clades of the virus: clade I (with subclades Ia and Ib) and clade II (with subclades IIa and IIb).
Featured image: Photo courtesy of WHO Sierra Leone
