The World Bank has pledged its commitment to providing additional resources towards Ghana’s Covid-19 response including vaccine purchase.
This follows the difficulties the country ia facing in procuring vaccines due to the global market challenges.
Ghana after a long wait to procuring vaccines for the second phase of inoculation received 350,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Speaking at a meeting of the World Bank Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility project, a representative from the World Bank, Agatha Pawlowski, assured Ghana the bank is working to bridge the inequity in vaccine supply.
“We are all aware of the continuing difficulties in having access to vaccines and logistics due to various vaccine challenges. I can assure you that the World Bank will continue to work to address the inequity of vaccine supply to Ghana to those in Ghana and other affected countries.”
She added that the World Bank is teaming up with other partners to provide additional resources that will help in Ghana’s fight against the Coovid pandemic.
“Finally, I’m also happy to say that the World Bank, Global Fund, and other partners are providing additional resources towards supporting Ghana’s COVID-19 response, including vaccine purchase. I, therefore, call on the government of Ghana to avoid any slippages but continue with the prudent activities to fight the pandemic while showing transparency, value for money, and accountability to the people of Ghana”.
350,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines arrive from DR Congo
Ghana took delivery of 350,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from the Democratic Republic of Congo through the COVAX initiative.
UNICEF facilitated the safe transport of the vaccines from DR Congo.
The consignment was initially allocated to the central African country, but was shipped into Ghana after it failed to utilise them weeks after it arrived in that country.
COVAX therefore decided to re-allocate these vaccines to countries that have been able to utilise their entire first allocation.
The 350,000 doses of vaccines are an addition to the 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine received on February 24, this year from COVAX.
