In the African region, over 70% of the mpox cases reported in 2022 originate from four countries. Nigeria is one of these priority countries, with a recorded 530 suspected cases and 220 confirmed between January and 14 August 2022.
To limit the spread of the disease within Nigeria and prevent its exportation from and importation to the country, WHO representatives from the global, regional and country levels traveled to the city of Abuja, Nigeria from 10-14 October 2022 to meet with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and key stakeholders to discuss the implementation of priority actions to combat the disease.
The group, which consisted of the WHO representatives at all three levels (global, regional and country), held meetings with the NCDC Director-General and other members of the senior management team, key partners, local public health officials from mpox priority states (Lagos, Ondo, Rivers, and Bayelsa) and clinicians from selected health facilities managing mpox cases.
The five-day visit determined that a national mpox response plan, including components for risk communication and community engagement, is already in place with well-established RCCE coordination at the national level. Nigeria has an active Incident Management System (IMS) with members from the NCDC, the Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Federal Ministry of Environment, and other partners. At the state level, all states in the country have Public Health Emergency Operation Centers and affected states have similarly activated their IMS.
To understand vaccine clearance process in the country, the mission representatives met with the leadership of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Following this mission, the WHO Regional Office for Africa and WHO Headquarters will work together to provide early notice to NAFDAC regarding the availability of vaccines for mpox. In the meantime, the WHO Nigeria Country Office will (WCO) work on improving data sharing and fast-tracking the implementation of various planned operational research. WHO HQ and the AFRO Lab Pillar will also continue to discuss how to better respond to the need for in-country bioinformaticians.
