Story from Kenneth AFOR, Lagos
The United States Government on Friday announced that 25 million COVID-19 vaccine doses will be shipped to Africa within days.
Countries to receive the first shipment are Burkina Faso, Djibouti, and Ethiopia.
According to a report by AFP quoting US officials, doses of Johnson & Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer vaccines are due to arrive in the next few weeks.
Djibouti and Burkina Faso will receive 151,200 doses of Johnson & Johnson, while Ethiopia will receive 453,600 doses, a senior Biden administration official said.
The surge in vaccine doses to the continent is being coordinated with multilateral bodies including the African Union and Covax — the distributor backed by the World Health Organizational (WHO) and the Gavi vaccine alliance.
It comes as the world faces an intensifying impact from the virulent Delta strain of the coronavirus, with new outbreaks appearing from Australia to the United States and Africa.
Overall, coronavirus-linked deaths in Africa increased by 43 per cent in the space of a week, driven by a lack of intensive-care beds and oxygen, the WHO said Thursday.
“In partnership with the African Union and Covax, the United States is proud to donate 25 million Covid-19 vaccines,” said Gayle Smith, US State Department coordinator for Covid-19 and global health.
“The Biden administration is committed to leading the global response to the pandemic.”
Strive Masiyiwa, special envoy for the African Union, said the vaccines would give another push to the AU’s goal of vaccinating 60 per cent of the population on the continent, “especially at this moment when we are witnessing the third wave in a number of African countries.”
Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, which is also helping coordinate the aid, called the US donations “a welcome, significant gesture.”
Together with other measures, there is “reason to be optimistic that the African Union’s goal of at least 60 per cent vaccination coverage will be achieved,” he said.
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