The African Union on Thursday began monthly shipments of COVID-19 vaccines acquired by the AU/African Vaccine Acquisition Trust to its member states.
President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, said this in a statement on Thursday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
Ramaphosa said it was a momentous step in Africa’s efforts to safeguard the health and well-being of its people.
“By working together and by pooling resources, African countries have been able to secure millions of vaccine doses produced right here in Africa.
“This will provide impetus to the fight against COVID-19 across the continent and will lay the basis for Africa’s social and economic recovery .” On Aug. 5, the first monthly shipments
AVAT, an initiative of AU member states to pool their purchasing power, on March 28, signed the historic agreement for purchase of 220 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) single-shot COVID-19 vaccine.
It also has the potential to order an additional 180 million doses.
