African nations are on average 42 percent ready to roll out Covid-19 mass-vaccination campaigns, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). This statistic is provided by WHO’s vaccine introduction readiness assessment tool, a mechanism that assists nations to among other things assess their program readiness to introduce Covid-19 vaccines, and identify gaps and prioritise actions for enhanced readiness. The tool follows indicators including countries’ planning and coordination in relation to the vaccine introduction; training of personnel to carry out vaccination and related activities; among other measures like the availability of infrastructure including storage facilities for the vaccine, and other logistics. According to WHO, the 42 percent readiness “is an improvement on the starting point of 33 percent two months ago, however, “there is still a long way to go to reach the desired benchmark of 80 percent.” In a press conference held by WHO Africa Regional Office on Thursday, January 21, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti the Regional Director of the Institution urged for more action to assist Africa’s quest to access vaccines. “We first, not me first, is the only way to end the pandemic. Vaccine hoarding will only prolong the ordeal and delay Africas recovery. It is deeply unjust that the most vulnerable Africans are forced to wait for vaccines while lower-risk groups in rich countries are made safe,” she said. Information from WHO shows that as of early this week, 40 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in 50 mostly high-income countries. However, in Africa, Guinea is the sole low-income nation to provide vaccines and to date these have only been administered to 25 people. And Seychelles, which is a high-income country, is the only one on the continent to start a national vaccination campaign. To make sure that vaccines are transported and stored adequately to remain effective, WHO and other global bodies like The Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) and UNICEF are working with countries to support their readiness to receive vaccines by mapping existing cold chain equipment and storage capacity, as well as providing technical support for countries to be ready to receive and manage the vaccines. According to Mohamed Fall, UNICEF’s Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Director, UNICEF “has put in place a global network of freight forwarders and logistics providers to deliver vaccines as quickly and safely as possible as part of this historic and mammoth operation.” This is among the efforts being put together by other global partners. Rwanda ready Meanwhile, zeroing in on the local picture, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, the Director-General of the Rwanda Biomedical Center told The New Times that the country has placed its order for the vaccine, and is not only ready to receive the first batch of doses, but it is also ready to immediately begin the vaccination exercise. Among other things, the country has given training to medics on how best to administer the vaccine. In addition, infrastructure for storing the vaccine has been put in place, specifically, the country purchased five new ultra-cold freezers worth Rwf50 million, which will be used to store Covid-19 vaccines upon their arrival in the country.
