First mpox vaccine dosses have arrived by plane in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, Reuters news agency reports.
Congo is the epicentre of an mpox outbreak that the World Health Organization declared to be a global public health emergency last month, but efforts to curb the spread of the disease have been hampered by a lack of vaccines.
The vaccine doses' arrival would help to address a huge inequity that left African countries with no access to the two shots used in a 2022 global mpox outbreak, while they were widely available in Europe and the United States.
Washington and Brussels have pledged tens of thousands of doses of a vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic, and said they could be delivered soon.
Kacita said on Monday that Congo hoped to start the first wave of vaccination on Oct. 8, but that this would depend on it receiving vaccines this week.
Health authorities face a steep challenge launching the vital campaign across a tropical country the size of western Europe. The doses must be kept at -90 degrees Celsius (-130°F), and communities can be wary of participating.
"The vaccine will not be distributed as soon as it is received," Kacita said, explaining why it would take around a month from delivery to launch the campaign.
"We need to communicate so that the population accepts the vaccination," he said, adding that the six targeted provinces have the capacity to store the doses at the required temperature.
