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Ghana among first ten African countries to receive vaccines thanks to partnership
Ghana received 177,600 single-injection vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson on Saturday as part of the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).
The doses are part of a total of 6.4 million vaccine doses that will be shipped to African Union member states in August 2021.
Ghana is among the first ten African countries to receive vaccines under this partnership.
Deputy Health Minister Tina Gifty Mensah and Ghana’s Director General of Health Services Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye were at the airport to receive vaccines.
Vaccine shipments are part of the landmark COVID-19 vaccine advance purchase agreement signed on March 28, 2021 by AVAT for the purchase of 220 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s single-injection COVID-19 vaccine, with the possibility of ordering 180 more. million doses.
“The agreement and the start of deliveries mark the first time that African Union member states have collectively purchased vaccines to protect the health of the people of Africa,” said a joint press release announcing the arrival of vaccines to Kotoka International Airport.
In total, the 400 million vaccines acquired by AVAT are enough to immunize a third of the African population.
Member States that have ordered vaccines through AVAT will continue to receive shipments over the coming months.
World Bank funding has been mobilized to support both the procurement and equitable deployment of vaccines.
As part of the additional $ 200 million credit for the COVID-19 emergency preparedness and response project in Ghana, the World Bank is helping to finance a total of 16.9 million doses of vaccine through AVAT.
In addition, the project is helping to strengthen vaccine deployment, so that doses translate into effective and equitable vaccinations.
This includes logistics and cold chain support, supplies needed to carry out immunization, training of immunization teams, and demand generation activities.
The AVAT was created by the African Task Force on the Acquisition of COVID-19 Vaccines, established in November 2020 under the chairmanship of the African Union of President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa.
It is part of the African Union’s COVID-19 vaccine development and access strategy and its goal to immunize at least 60% of the African population with safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.
The deal with Johnson & Johnson was made possible through a $ 2 billion facility provided by the African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank), who are also financial and transactional advisers, guarantors, installment payment advisers and payment agents, and support from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) which coordinated the alignment of AU finance ministers on funding modalities.
The United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) supported by the African Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP) provides logistics and delivery services to the various Member States of the African Union.
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