According to the Ministry of Health of Rwanda, the country has launched an initiative to procure 2.19 million vaccines, through the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).
- The Rwandan Government is bracing up its efforts to administer the doses using the already available infrastructure with a primary focus on the areas with the highest rates of infections.
According to the Ministry of Health of Rwanda, the country has launched an initiative to procure 2.19 million vaccines, through the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT). Through AVAT, an initiative by the African Union Member States to pool resources to purchase vaccines and deal with vaccine inequality, Rwanda has procured 108,000 Johnson & Johnson single-shot Covid-19 vaccines.
The consignment of J&J vaccines was delivered on 2nd September which was received by Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, Director General, Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) and Mama Keita, the Director, UNECA sub-regional office for Eastern Africa. Keita observed that the AVAT initiative was a historic step to promote Africa’s efforts to safeguard the health and well-being of its people.She hoped that it will strengthen Africa’s fight against Covid-19 and lead to Africa’s social and economic recovery.
Speaking about Rwanda’s vaccination drive, Nsanzimana said that the Rwandan Government is bracing up its efforts to administer the doses using the already available infrastructure with a primary focus on the areas with the highest rates of infections.
With over 1.5 million Rwandans given their first dose, the government has vaccinated only 20 percent of its target. Rwanda has recently accelerated its inoculation campaign and announced that all above the age of 18 can receive the vaccine. The target of the government is to vaccinate 60 percent of its 12.9 million population (or 7.8 million people) by June 2022. However, according to experts, at the current pace of vaccination, only 30 percent of the population, mostly from urban areas, will be vaccinated by early 2022.
