Nine African countries including Liberia, will receive supplies out of an initial 899,000 vaccine doses allocated by the Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) for Mpox – the recipients are categorized as being seriously affected by the current Mpox surge. The remaining eight countries include: the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda. The decision to allocate the supply, according to a joint statement published Tuesday, November 5, 2024, by the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), was reached in collaboration with affected countries and donors to ensure that the limited doses are used effectively and fairly, with the overall objective to control the outbreaks. The largest number of doses – 85% of the allocation, according to the statement, will go to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the most affected country, reporting four out of every five laboratory-confirmed cases in Africa this year. Since the outbreak of the Mpox disease in August 2024, Liberia has made significant strides in ensuring that the disease is contained as updates from the nation’s Epidemiological Week 43 showed that the country has successfully managed 14 recoveries, with only eight active cases remaining. Liberia has exhibited strength in ensuring adequate surveillance mechanisms against the virus, the country’s National Public Health Institute (NPHIL) announced a milestone achievement on November 4, 2024, after it identified Clade IIb of the virus within the country through advanced genomic sequencing. The NPHIL also affirmed that Liberia’s proactive approach has resulted in zero fatality and zero percent Case Fatality Rate. However, NPHIL’s Director General, Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan, has emphasized the importance of genomic sequencing – specialized technique that reveals the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) or protein structures of organisms allowing scientists to detect mutations and trace pathogen origins. The NPHIL boss believes that the discovery of Clade IIb provides essential data to refine Liberia’s public health response, from vaccine strategy to diagnostics, and to enhance virus tracing and transmission studies. According to the joint statement published by Africa CDC, the 899,000 vaccine doses come from Canada, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain, as well as the European Union Health Emergency Response Authority), and the Unites States of America. It said that Vaccination is recommended as a part of a comprehensive Mpox response strategy, focusing also on timely testing and diagnosis, effective clinical care, infection prevention, and the engagement of affected communities. “Vaccines play an important role and are recommended to reduce transmission and help contain outbreaks,” the statement added. LINA