Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
The shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine to Africa has accelerated, injecting fresh impetus in the continent’s quest to limit infections and fatalities arising from the virus, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said Thursday.
Matshidiso
Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said that nearly 4 million doses
arrived in the continent last week, as plans to ramp up deliveries and
inoculate 30 percent of the population by the end of this year gathers steam.
“I urge
all countries with surplus doses to urgently share more in the spirit of
life-saving solidarity and enlightened self-interest because no country is safe
until all countries are safe,” Moeti said in a statement.
According
to Moeti, 79 million COVID-19 doses have already arrived in Africa and 21 million
people or 1.6 percent of the continent’s population are fully immunized.
She said
Africa required 820 million doses to inoculate 30 percent of its population by
the end of 2021 even as multilateral initiatives plan to deliver the
life-saving commodity in large quantities in the coming weeks.
Moeti said
the COVAX facility will ship 520 million doses to the continent towards the end
of this year while African Union’s Africa Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT)
plans to deliver 10 million doses each month from September, to hit a target of
45 million by year’s end.
She
disclosed that the COVAX facility has clinched new deals with China’s Sinopharm
and Sinovac to rapidly supply 110 million additional doses to low-income
countries, a majority in Africa.
Moeti said
multilateral lenders like the World Bank are set to boost COVID-19 vaccine
supply to developing countries at a subsidized cost, adding that Africa will
benefit from that arrangement.
She said
that vaccine donation from bilateral partners will help the continent plug a
shortfall occasioned by global supply hiccups and revitalize action on the
third wave of infections that has strained public health systems.
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