Governments across Africa have commended the continents leading telecoms company, MTN is donating $25 million to support the African Union’s COVID-19 vaccination programme. The telco made the donation in expectation of securing up to seven million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for health workers across the continent, which will contribute to the vaccination initiative of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Speaking on the donation, the President and CEO of MTN Group, Ralph Mupita said that the devastating impact of COVID-19 has been unprecedented and profound.  “

Public and private partnerships are needed if we are to succeed in the fight against the pandemic and restore social and economic norms for our continent and our communities,” South Africa’s President and Chairperson of the African Union, Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the African Union had secured a provisional 270 million COVID-19 vaccine doses on behalf of its Member States, through advance procurement commitment guarantees of up to $2 billion to the manufacturers by the African Export-Import Bank.

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This was an important milestone in efforts to ensure equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine for Africa’s people. However, with a population of about 1.3 billion, Africa requires many more doses to achieve at least 60 percent herd immunity. Contributions by private organisations, like MTN, are therefore essential to help the continent reach its target.

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“Our goal is to ensure that all those who need the COVID-19 vaccine have access to it very quickly, but the biggest hurdle in Africa has been the financing of the vaccines, and the logistics of vaccinating at scale. We, therefore, welcome the right partnerships, like the one with MTN, to achieve our minimum 60 percent vaccination target,” says Dr John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry