In its public/private partnership, a telecommunications firm, MTN, has donated $25 million to support the African Union’s COVID-19 vaccination programme.
The donation is expected to help secure up to seven million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for health workers across the continent, which will contribute to the vaccination initiative of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
President and Chief Executive Officer of MTN Group, Ralph Mupita, said: “The devastating impact of COVID-19 has been unprecedented and profound. Public and private partnerships are needed if we are to succeed in the fight against the pandemic and restore social and economic norms for our continent and our communities.”
The donation, the telecommunications firm said, was another example of its efforts to help find lasting solutions to solve the challenges facing the continent and to guarantee a healthy Africa, for all Africans.
Mupita said he believed that ongoing collaborations with key stakeholders across sectors were essential as vaccines are deployed in all our markets, with communication tools, technology and digital services being vital support infrastructure for a successful mass vaccination programme.
Commenting, Director of Africa CDC, Dr. John Nkengasong, said: “Our goal is to ensure that all those who need the COVID-19 vaccines have access to them very quickly, but the biggest hurdle in Africa has been financing of the vaccines, and the logistics of vaccinating at scale. We, therefore, welcome the right partnerships, like the one with MTN, to achieve our minimum 60 per cent vaccination target.”
