Coloured microscope image of mpox virus particles (file). Photo: NIAID via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
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Kenya to access mpox vaccines from new global stockpile.
Kenya can now draw mpox vaccines from a new global stockpile set up to speed up outbreak response, health officials said this week. The stockpile, launched on 27 August 2026, began operations this month and is funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
It is coordinated by the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision, which brings together the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Medecins Sans Frontieres. Gavi chief executive Dr Sania Nishtar said lower-income countries were "left behind" in accessing vaccines during the 2022 mpox outbreak, and the new stockpile is meant to fix that.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said the arrangement lets "countries access them more quickly when needed, saving lives."
Kenya's outbreak so far
Kenya recorded 78 confirmed mpox cases and four deaths between February and March 2026, then the highest death rate in Africa for that period. By July, cases had fallen to 48 with no deaths, though Kenya still ranked third on the continent behind Madagascar and Angola. Madagascar remains the worst-hit country, with about 3,000 cases, 18 deaths and roughly 90,000 people vaccinated.
For Kibera residents, faster access to vaccines during a flare-up could mean quicker protection for households living in close quarters, where the virus spreads more easily through skin contact.
Sources: The Star; Capital FM
That was a Kibra News Network report, read by an A I voice.
Kenya can now draw mpox vaccines from a new global stockpile set up to speed up outbreak response, health officials said this week. The stockpile, launched on 27 August 2026, began operations this month and is funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
It is coordinated by the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision, which brings together the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Medecins Sans Frontieres. Gavi chief executive Dr Sania Nishtar said lower-income countries were “left behind” in accessing vaccines during the 2022 mpox outbreak, and the new stockpile is meant to fix that.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said the arrangement lets “countries access them more quickly when needed, saving lives.”
Kenya’s outbreak so far
Kenya recorded 78 confirmed mpox cases and four deaths between February and March 2026, then the highest death rate in Africa for that period. By July, cases had fallen to 48 with no deaths, though Kenya still ranked third on the continent behind Madagascar and Angola. Madagascar remains the worst-hit country, with about 3,000 cases, 18 deaths and roughly 90,000 people vaccinated.
For Kibera residents, faster access to vaccines during a flare-up could mean quicker protection for households living in close quarters, where the virus spreads more easily through skin contact.
KNN Newsroom is the staff byline for stories written, rewritten and edited at the Kibra News Network desk. Where a story credits an outside outlet, the original source is linked at the foot of the piece.
