Rwanda receives US$ 32m worth Pneumonia Vaccines

KICUKIRO - Rwanda has received a consignment of Prevnar Pneumococcal Vaccine worth about US$32 million (Approx. Rwf 18bn). The vaccine will be used to immunise over 1.3 million children in the country against pneumonia and other Pnuemococcol diseases like Meningitis. The vaccine was donated by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals through United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI). Receiving the first of the two consignments of the drugs at Kigali International Airport, the Minister of Health Dr. Richard Sezibera revealed that the vaccine will help reduce cases of infant mortality which account for over 24 percent of deaths caused by preventable diseases in the country.