Covid in Africa, from Senegal “a gesture of African solidarity” for the Gambia and Guinea Bissau: 20,000 doses donated
Covid in Africa: Senegal will share some 20,000 doses of its Covid-19 vaccine with the neighboring Gambia and Guinea Bissau in what the health minister called a gesture of African solidarity.
Senegal in solidarity, from Dakar doses of Covid vaccine for health personnel and government of Gambia and Guinea Bissau
Dakar launched its national immunization program yesterday after receiving the first 200,000 doses of the drug purchased from the Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.
The first doses of the vaccine were administered to government ministers and health personnel.
Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr told reporters after receiving the vaccine that 10,000 doses of the drug would be offered to Guinea-Bissau, which borders Senegal to the north, and the Gambia, whose territory is surrounded by that of its neighbor.
Both countries are economically less advanced than Senegal.
Covid in Senegal, an overview
Senegal, which has a population of about 16 million inhabitants and has so far recorded just over 33,000 cases of Covid-19 and 814 deaths, is eligible for about 1.7 million doses of vaccines under the Covax mechanism.
The Covax mechanism is financed by many public and private stakeholders, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), and aims to provide vaccines to developing countries.
President Macky Sall’s government is also in negotiations with Russia for the purchase of the drug Sputnik V.
Sinopharm’s vaccines were paid for at around two billion CFA francs or just over three million euros.
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