Portugal will donate IPC vaccines to African countries, the Health Ministry announced, after France, Germany and Spain made the same commitment this week.
The Health Ministry statement stressed that the vaccines would be donated to “African countries that have registered a significant increase in cases of the disease, which has already been declared a ‘global public health emergency’ by the World Health Organization.”
“Portugal currently has a ‘stock’ of smallpox vaccines and is willing to give up 10-15% of this ‘stock’ of vaccines,” says the office headed by Ana Paula Martins.
Portugal is thus responding to the European Commission’s request to European Union (EU) Member States last week to provide vaccines and medicines to Africa.
“The Ministry of Health has already asked the HERA (European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority) board to communicate this intention and availability. The provision of vaccines will naturally depend on coordination at the European Union level,” he adds.
The Health Ministry said on Wednesday it was assessing vaccine donations to African countries in line with their “stockpiles” and domestic needs.
Smallpox is a viral disease that is transmitted from animals to humans, but can also be spread between people through physical contact, causing fever, muscle pain, and skin lesions.
A new strain (clade 1b) of MPOX was discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRCongo) in September 2023 and has since been reported in several neighbouring countries.
The African resurgence is having a major impact on the Republic of Congo, DR Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.