As of Tuesday, the country administered 300 doses of the vaccine to high-risk individuals in a border region with the Democratic Republic of Congo ,DRC.
Director-General of the Africa Centre for Disease Control – Africa CDC- Jean Kaseya,, confirmed the commencement of the campaign, stating the urgency of curbing the outbreak.
The Rwandan Ministry of Health targeted health workers, cross-border business operators, hospitality staff, and other high-risk populations in the initial rollout.
DRC remains at the epicenter of the African mpox outbreak, reporting 2,912 new cases and 14 deaths in the past week alone, bringing the total to 6,105 cases and 738 deaths since January.
The DRC is expected to begin its vaccination efforts in early October, with 165,000 doses already delivered and additional supplies pledged by European nations.
Director-General of the World Health Organization ,WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus, called for international cooperation to halt the spread of mpox.
Other African nations, including Nigeria, have also received support in the form of vaccine donations.
In August, the United States provided 10,000 doses of the mpox vaccine to Nigeria through USAID, further bolstering efforts to contain the outbreak.