Ghana is the first country in the world to receive coronavirus vaccines purchased through the UN-backed COVAX initiative. The African nation on Wednesday received 600,000 doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford and produced by the Serum Institute of India.
The doses, delivered by UNICEF, arrived at the Kotoka International Airport in the capital, Accra, early Wednesday and are part of the first wave of vaccines shipped by COVAX to several low- and middle-income nations. Ghana is one of 92 countries that joined the program, according to a statement by the acting Ghanaian Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
The West African nation, which has 30 million inhabitants, has registered 81,245 cases and 584 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to data provided Tuesday by the national Health Services.
The vaccination campaign will begin on March 2 and will be carried out in phases for priority groups, starting with health workers, adults over 60, people with pre-existing diseases and members of the front-line executive, legislative and judicial branches and their teams. Nkrumah pointed out.
“The government of Ghana remains determined to ensure the well-being of all Ghanaians and is making frantic efforts to purchase adequate vaccines to cover the entire population through bilateral and multilateral agencies,” he added.
In a joint statement, representatives of UNICEF and WHO – the UN agencies for children and health, respectively – described the arrival of the COVAX vaccines as a fundamental “momentous occasion” to end the pandemic.
“After a year of interruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the road to recovery for the people of Ghana may finally begin,” the note added.
The COVAX shipment to Ghana is the start of what will be the largest vaccine procurement and delivery operation in history, according to the statement. The initiative plans to deliver nearly 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide this year.
“Today is a historic moment that we have been planning and for which we have been working very hard. With the first shipment of doses we can deliver on the promise of the COVAX initiative to ensure that people in less wealthy countries are not left behind in the race for life-saving vaccines, ”said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director.
“The next phase in the fight against this disease can begin: the reinforcement of the largest immunization campaign in history,” Fore added. “Each step on this journey takes us further on the road to recovery for the billions of affected children and families around the world.”
___
Petesch reported from Dakar, Senegal.
–
