DR Congo expects its first mpox vaccines to arrive next week, Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba announced during a news conference on Monday.
He added that Japan and the United States have committed to supplying vaccines to the Congo.
"We've just finished discussions with USAID and the US government... I hope that by next week we'll be able to see the vaccines arrive," he told the press conference.
The delivery of these vaccines aims to address a significant disparity that left African nations without access to the two vaccines used in the 2022 global mpox outbreak, while they were readily available in Europe and the United States.
Last week, the global vaccine alliance Gavi told a Western media outlet that it had up to $500 million allocated for procuring vaccines for countries affected by Africa's growing mpox outbreak.
"Gavi has offered to make the vaccines available, and we agreed," Mulamba said.
The ongoing mpox outbreak originated in the DRC and has now reached 17 African countries, including Nigeria. The latter is implementing enhanced surveillance of the epidemiological situation and tracking individuals who have been in contact with infected persons to curb the virus's spread.