Brazzaville, 24 August 2021 – African Health Ministers and representatives from countries gathered today for the Seventy-first session of the World Health Organization (W
African health ministers met today to take stock of the continent's fight against COVID-19 as the pandemic continues to stretch health systems to breaking point in some countries and just 2% of all Africans are fully vaccinated against the virus.
Ebola booster dose vaccination kicks off in Sierra Leone following administration of the prime dose of the Johnson & Johnson Ebola vaccine in May this year. Frontline health workers, traditional healers and commercial motor bike riders who received the first dose are now being given their second jab to maximise their protection against the disease. The target beneficiaries were identified as high-risk groups and selected for preventive vaccination to protect them in the event there was a cross border transmission of the disease which had re-emerged in Guinea in February 2021.
Africa’s largest-ever vaccination drive is well underway.52 African countries are rolling out COVID-19 vaccines and over 73 million doses have been administered on the continent.
With 620 million COVID-19 vaccine doses set to arrive in Africa through COVAX alone by the end of 2021, African countries are set to roll out a range of different vaccines, each with their own unique storage, transport and administration requirements.
West Africa has recorded its highest number of COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began as several countries grapple with outbreaks of cholera, Ebola Virus Disease and Marburg Virus Disease that threaten to further strain the already stretched emergency response capacity in the region.
