Nigeria Receives 10,000 Doses of Mpox Vaccine from United States

•To begin vaccination this week 

•FG moves to expand training facilities for health workers

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The federal government has taken delivery of 10,000 doses of Mpox vaccine donated by the United States government.

Mpox disease has been declared a matter of global health concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) with countries in the East African region accounting for most of the casualties.

Also, as part of the efforts of the present administration to expand the healthcare value chain in the country, the federal government has given the newly established Federal University of Health and Allied Sciences a mandate to commence studies in September.

Although there have been no casualties recorded in Nigeria so far, the number of infected persons has reached 40.

US ambassador, Richard Mills who presented the vaccine to Nigerian government officials in Abuja, yesterday said the US government has prioritised support for Global Health Security, particularly in most vulnerable countries.

“I am pleased to be here with you today on the occasion of the handover of 10,000 doses of JYNNEOS Mpox vaccines donated by the United States Government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

“These vaccines will support the Government of Nigeria’s response to the current Mpox outbreak which has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organisation. Recognising that a public health threat in one place is a global health concern for all,” he said

He said the United States government, through USAID, remains a committed partner with Nigeria to strengthen systems that can effectively prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats.

According to the ambassador, USAID  has funded projects including MRITE and Breakthrough Action are integral in the provision of technical support at the national and sub-national levels.

Speaking during the formal handover of the vaccines, the Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr.  Muyi Aina, said it was a two-dose primary series for use in persons who have never received smallpox vaccine and a single booster for individuals previously vaccinated with a smallpox vaccine

When asked when the vaccination would commence,  Aina said the Mpox vaccine would be immediately deployed to areas with a high risk of infection.

He said one of the decisions the agency has taken was to vaccinate people at high risk, like health workers, and people living in areas with high infection rates.

The Executive Director said NPHCDA was working with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) to effectively check the spread and control of infectious diseases in the country.

Meanwhile, as part of the efforts of the present administration to expand the healthcare value chain in the country, the federal government has given the newly established Federal University of Health and Allied Sciences a mandate to commence studies in September.

Speaking during a visit of the university’s management team to his office in Abuja, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the vision of government was to create opportunity for training of more health sector manpower to boost healthcare delivery in the country.

“I am very happy that by September you will commence the training of the first set of students under the banner of the Federal University of Health and Allied Sciences in Enugu.”

 The minister said that the new institution was envisioned to train other health professionals aside from medical doctors.

“Nigeria needs to expand her human resource base in the area of health and we were deliberate in not making it a place to train doctors because we have enough institutions dedicated to training of doctors and dentists in the country.

‘So you should focus on another human resource. We need more institutions of allied health sciences in the country that will focus on training more nurses, medical engineers and such unique areas like health economics,” he said.

The minister commended the Acting Vice Chancellor and his team for their hard work in transitioning the institution from a college of health sciences to the Federal University of Health and Allied Sciences. “

The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom, congratulated Prof. Emaimo and the entire university community for the level of infrastructure development achieved under his leadership.

In his response, Emaimo expressed gratitude for the minister’s commendation and reassured him that FUAHS Enugu was on track to commence operations by September for the upcoming academic session.

He pledged to uphold the standards of excellence set by the ministry and to prioritise allied health programs in the university’s curriculum.

The visit to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare was part of the university’s efforts to present a brief of the transition committee and submit the foundational documents required to kickstart operations.