Somalia has received a donation of 108,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from France to help in the fight against COVID-19.
The French government donated the vaccines through COVAX, a partnership between the World Health Organization (WHO, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Gavi – the Alliance Vaccine.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is also part of the COVAX Facility.
A statement from the French Ambassador to Somalia, Aline Kuster-Menager, says that the donation is designed to bolster the efforts by the East African nation to vaccinate more people.
Specifically, Ambassador Aline mentioned frontline workers and the people who face the greatest risk.
The French Ambassador also stated that the donation is part of the efforts by the France under President Emmanuel Macron to donate up to 60 million of the doses to countries around the world.
France intends to donate these doses by the end of 2021.
Somalia has reported more than 16,000 cases of the deadly disease since March 2020. More than 830 people have succumbed to the disease in that time.
However, the country is currently struggling with low vaccination rates.
