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Africa Boosts Virus Fight as Jabs Reach Nigeria, Angola

Africa Boosts Virus Fight as Jabs Reach Nigeria, Angola
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By Staff, Agencies

Millions of coronavirus shots from the global Covax scheme have arrived in Nigeria, Angola and Kenya, as African countries ramp up their vaccine rollouts.

Richer countries surged ahead with vaccinations but many poorer countries are still awaiting deliveries, prompting the World Health Organization [WHO] to warn that the crisis cannot end unless everyone can inoculate their populations.

The Covax facility, run by the WHO along with health NGOs, is aiming to supply vaccines to dozens of countries in the first 100 days of 2021, and two billion doses by the end of the year.

While the continent's most populous country Nigeria received almost four million jabs on Tuesday, Angola received more than 600,000 doses and DR Congo was scheduled to get a consignment later, following recent deliveries to Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Kenya received its first shipment of just over 1 million Covax-funded AstraZeneca/Oxford shots early Wednesday.

However, there are still critical hurdles for the scheme's rollout in vast African countries with sketchy infrastructure and an array of security challenges, a point addressed by Faisal Shuaib, director of Nigeria's primary healthcare agency.

Nigerian official Boss Mustapha urged traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society groups and the media to spread the message that vaccinations were needed, adding: "This is a fight for everyone."

In Angola, where some healthcare workers were vaccinated shortly after the doses were offloaded, the WHO's Djamila Cabral said the arrival of vaccines brought a "stronger hope to save lives", but warned that everyone needed to continue respecting Covid restrictions to beat the pandemic.

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