Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have initiated mpox vaccinations, following nearly two months after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global emergency as it spread across multiple countries.

Some of the 265,000 vaccine doses donated by the United States and the European Union have been administered in Goma, a key city in North Kivu province. The region’s hospitals and healthcare staff have been stretched thin while attempting to grapple with a new, and potentially more contagious, variant of mpox.

The DRC is confronting the most significant burden of the outbreak, with around 30,000 suspected mpox cases and 859 related fatalities—comprising over 80% of reported cases and 99% of the deaths across Africa this year. All 26 provinces in the central African nation have reported cases of the disease.

Though the majority of cases and deaths occur in children under 15, the vaccine doses currently being administered are allocated for adults in higher-risk groups, including frontline workers, according to Roger Kamba, the country’s health minister.

“We have established strategies to ensure the vaccination of all eligible and prioritized individuals,” said Muboyayi Chikayal, the chief of staff to the health minister, during the launch of the campaign.

Kamba also mentioned that at least 3 million doses of a vaccine approved for use in children are anticipated to arrive from Japan in the coming days.