Maputo — The Mozambican health authorities have started to contact international partners in order to gain access to vaccines against mpox, although the country has not recorded any positive cases.
According to Eduardo Samo Gudo - Director General of the National Health Institute (INS) and Chairperson of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) - despite having no positive cases, the country has been anticipating the search for vaccines around the world, in order respond to the outbreak, if necessary.
Samo Gudo was speaking, on Wednesday, in Maputo, at the opening of the 7th Ordinary Meeting of the Africa-CDC, a two-day event aimed at discussing mechanisms and procedures for declaring and managing public health emergencies.
"Our surveillance is on high alert and the proof of this is that, to date, we have tested 36 samples and all of them have been negative for mpox. Through its regional and global partners, Mozambique has been taking steps to ensure that it has the stockpile to be able to apply in the event of mpox cases', he said.
Samo Gudo explained that the country is also working on border surveillance in order to prevent the import of mpox cases.
"What we're doing is reinforcing border security, focusing on those countries that have confirmed cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) does not recommend restricting travel to any country and we are complying with that recommendation', he said.
For his part, Benjamin Djoudalbaye, Head of Policy, Health Diplomacy and Communication at CDC Africa, said that, since the world still lacks sufficient vaccines against mpox, the health ministers must continue to seek solutions in order to control the disease.
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"Capacities are very limited, especially in terms of diagnosis. And as you know, Nigeria is the only country in Africa that has received 10,000 doses of vaccine, and we are working with international partners to receive more vaccines for the continent', he said.
For his part, Health Minister Armindo Tiago said there is an urgent need to establish an appropriate coordination mechanism to provide an effective response to public health emergencies.
"Recent public health emergencies on the continent demonstrate that a successful response requires an adequate coordination mechanism. The elevation of CDC-Africa to an autonomous agency of the African Union with a view to improving its efficiency in continental coordination in the response to public health emergencies is an important milestone on our continent', he said.
The Minister also said that the strengthening of Africa CDC is an essential pillar for strengthening the capacity of Mozambique and other African states to deal with public health emergencies.
"The discussion of this issue is of crucial importance, especially considering that our continent is currently the epicenter of multiple outbreaks. We are confident that this elevation will gradually improve our continent's readiness for public health emergencies', he said.
