Mon 29 November 2021:
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on Monday that China will ship an additional billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to African countries.
“China will provide Africa with another billion doses of vaccines,” Xi said at the opening ceremony of the 8th ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, as quoted by the China Central Television.
600 million of those will be donated, with the remaining 400 million provided by Chinese companies through joint production with local businesses. China will also assist African countries in the implementation of ten health-related projects, sending 1,500 medical personnel and public health experts to the continent.
The African Vaccine Acquisition Trust, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and COVAX urged the international community to increase COVID-19 vaccine donations to Africa, especially in light of the new Omicron strain’s emergence. The organizations urged donor countries to adhere to universal standards to ensure that vaccine supplies are of sufficient quantity and predictability so that African countries can better plan their vaccine rollouts.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, described the unequal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as a precursor to the emergence of new coronavirus variants.
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