African leaders will hold a two-day webinar to discuss expanding vaccine manufacturing on the continent.
Speakers will include Congo’s President Felix Tsidekedi, Chair of the African Union, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, Senegal’s President Macky Sall, World Health Organisation’s Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus and the WTO’s Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
COVID-19 vaccination programmes have taken off across Africa, with a specific focus on healthcare workers to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the continent is still facing significant challenges in securing access to COVID-19 vaccines needed to achieve its goal of vaccinating at least 60% of the continent’s population.
As of 15 March, 23.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been distributed across the continent.
Africa’s vaccine efforts are administered by the COVAX Facility, aimed to provide donor-funded vaccines to lower-income countries.
Currently, South Africa has administered the Johnson & Johnson vaccines to healthcare workers across the country. – Additional reporting by Paballo Lephaka
