The World Health Organisation Africa Office (WHO AFRO) has announced Nigeria’s launch of Mpox vaccination campaigns across 12 high-burden states to curb the spread of the disease and protect vulnerable groups.
Rolled out in phases in August, a total of 30,100 vaccine doses are being deployed in high-burdened states, including Benue, Edo, Kaduna, Plateau, Ogun, Ondo, Imo, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers, and Cross River states.
The ten-day exercise aims to “protect vulnerable populations and strengthen outbreak response mechanisms.”
It is coordinated by the Federal Government through the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) with support from the State Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.
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Targeted groups
With each person receiving two doses, spaced four weeks apart, the vaccination campaign targets:
- 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
The emergence of Mpox in Nigeria
According to the WHO, “Mpox re-emerged in Nigeria in 2017 after nearly four decades of absence.
“By 2024, the country had recorded 1,947 suspected cases and 189 deaths. As of August 17, 2025, there were 1,148 suspected cases, 283 confirmed infections, and four deaths reported across 32 states and the Federal Capital Territory.”
According to the WHO, the vaccine is important because it helps prevent infection and slow the spread of Mpox between people. It also helps to protect people from severe illness.
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).
