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Sierra Leone: France provides nearly 200,000 doses of vaccines

28 October 2021 at 04:14 | 1373 views

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One year ago, the COVAX facility was launched, with the support of France, to ensure equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine as a global public good.

As President Emmanuel Macron (photo) has pointed out on numerous occasions (United Nations General Assembly, G7 and G20 summits), the international solidarity of the developed economies must be there to fight the pandemic effectively.

To accelerate COVAX vaccination campaigns in AMC (Advance Market Commitment) countries, particularly in Africa, donations of doses are essential. France was one of the first countries to affirm its willingness to donate doses of safe and effective WHO-approved vaccines, in addition to its financial contributions. These doses are intended to accelerate the vaccination of priority staff, namely health workers, who are on the front line, as well as the most vulnerable populations, in accordance with the allocation framework defined with the WHO.

As part of the French President’s commitment at the G7 summit in Carbis Bay in June 2021 to donate 60 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to developing countries by the end of 2021, France has partnered with the African Union and COVAX to donate 10 million doses to the African Vaccine Acquisition Fund (AVAT). AVAT is a pooled procurement mechanism that allows African Union member states to procure enough vaccines to cover at least 50% of their needs, with the remaining 50% provided by COVAX through donations.

The 10 million doses of vaccine pledged by France have been delivered in two tranches: a first tranche of 5 million doses during September, and a second tranche of 5 million, including 1 million doses of Pfizer vaccine, during October.

The French government is pleased that Sierra Leone, where the vaccination campaign is underway, is benefiting from vaccines provided by France through the COVAX mechanism.

Sierra Leone has received from France 96,000 doses on last august, which have been covered by UNICEF.

A new shipment of 100,800 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine sent by France to Sierra Leone were received on last 17th October, also covered by UNICEF. This second important donation is a concrete expression of France’s commitment and will help accelerate the ongoing vaccination campaign in Sierra Leone.

These French donations to COVAX are part of Team Europe’s broader effort to support this mechanism (at least 100 million doses of European vaccines will be shared this year), which aims to ensure concrete vaccine solidarity, for the most fragile countries.

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