West African nations have been inoculating against smallpox for centuries. African, Arab, and Asian communities used this practice for safe trade.
Africans brought smallpox prevention to the Americas before the 18th century. Later, Edward Jenner used these ancient techniques to invent the first vaccine.
This tool became crucial in the 20th-century effort to eradicate smallpox. The virus claimed hundreds of millions of lives before global cooperation stopped it.
Now, West Africa faces a new, related viral disease: mpox. Formerly called monkeypox, mpox has infected over 30,000 Africans in 2024 alone.
Africa helped create vaccines. It now needs them from the rest of the world to fight the mpox crisis.