Kenya’s Ministry of Health, in collaboration with partners, is finalising plans to roll out vaccination against mpox as the country so far recorded 36 cases, including one fatality.
Officials made the announced on Thursday.
Mary Muthoni Muriuki, principal secretary in the Ministry of Health, said the vaccination campaign will prioritise high-risk groups such as long-distance truck drivers, frontline healthcare workers, and immuno suppressed individuals.
Muriuki who spoke at a media briefing in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, noted that the vaccines will complement other preventive measures, including enhanced surveillance, timely diagnosis, and quality treatment.
Kenya reported its first mpox case in July 2024 at the border with Tanzania, Muriuki said, highlighting the disease’s ongoing public health threat in the East African region due to high levels of human mobility.
She said, vaccine procurement will be carried out in partnership with multilateral organisations, while trained community health promoters will lead public awareness campaigns to encourage vaccine uptake among vulnerable groups.
She also confirmed that the Kenyan government has invested in supportive infrastructure, such as cold chains and reliable power supplies at health facilities, to ensure the smooth rollout of vaccinations.
Kenya had developed a comprehensive mpox vaccination strategy based on international best practices, said Sultani Matendechero, senior deputy director at the Ministry of Health.
He warned that cases might rise in the near future and stressed that the government would use third-generation mpox vaccines, which have proven safety and efficacy.
He added that priority will be given to contacts of infected individuals and frontline health workers in hotspots such as ports of entry.
Kenya is among the African countries set to benefit from centralised mpox vaccine procurement through multilateral agencies and donors, according to Hentsa Haddush Desta, national coordinator for the Eastern Africa Regional Coordinating Center of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Desta explained that vaccines will be allocated based on national caseloads, adding that Africa requires 10 million doses, with some countries already beginning inoculations.