Malta has joined other European Union (EU) member states to help Africa reduce the further spread of Mpox. Malta’s Health Ministry said In a statement yesterday, that Malta joined the European Commission’s Team Europe initiative to donate vaccines and mobilise resources to help address the public health emergency, adding that together European countries will be donating half a million vaccines. The country’s health ministry reported the first case of Mpox on August 30, with the second case being registered on September 3.

The first case was identified as a less severe strain of the virus known as Clade II. According to a press release issued by the European Commission, the first shipment of approximately 100,000 Mpox vaccine doses will arrive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today, while another 100,000 vaccine deliveries are expected in the coming days. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern on the 14th of August in view of its prevalence and spread across many parts of Africa.