Press release
Today, thanks to COVAX, 137 countries have received more than 156 million doses of vaccine. This already represents more than 27 million doses delivered to 44 African countries.
The President of the French Republic has reminded many times (United Nations General Assembly, G7 and G20 summits), that the international solidarity of developed economies must be present to fight effectively against the pandemic. In February, the President of the Republic called on his partners from the G7, the G20 and the European Union to share, like France, part of the vaccine doses received with the most fragile countries in the world, the 92 countries that make up the AMC of COVAX. In the spring, COVAX was confronted in the with supply difficulties due to export restrictions affecting its main supplier and the French initiative in favour of the donation of doses, which is now being followed by other partners whom we applaud, has proven to be the only effective, short-term response to sustaining vaccine deliveries around the world.
To accelerate COVAX vaccination campaigns in AMC countries, particularly in Africa, donation of doses is essential. France was one of the first countries to affirm its willingness to provide doses of safe and effective vaccines, approved by the WHO, in addition to its financial contributions. These doses are intended to accelerate the vaccination of priority personnel, namely health personnel, who are on the front line, as well as the most vulnerable populations, in accordance with the allocation framework defined with the WHO.
In this regard, on the occasion of the G7 Summit in Carbis Bay, President Macron has pledged to donate 60 million of our vaccines by the end of 2021. These donations will include several types of vaccines, consistent with the COVAX portfolio and approved by WHO. On the scale of the French population, this represents a considerable effort (60 million doses given, to be compared with the 73 million doses of vaccines administered in France by the end of July).
– The world is in urgent need of vaccines against Covid-19, especially fragile countries. This is why France was the first country to materialize its donation of doses via COVAX as of April. By the end of mid-August, a total of 28 countries will have received more than 5.7 million doses through this mechanism. France will further step up its action and work actively with the African Union and its AVATT mechanism to rapidly deliver 10 million doses to Africa, including 5 million by the end of August. These donations will help ease the strain over the next few weeks, pending the massive arrival of doses expected in the fall.
The French Embassy is happy to announce that the GAMBIA, where the vaccination campaign has started, is benefiting from 36,480 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine provided by France through the COVAX mechanism. These French donations to COVAX are part of the more global effort of the Europe team in favour of this mechanism (at least 100 million doses of European vaccines will be shared from this year) which aims to ensure concrete vaccine solidarity, as of now, for the most fragile countries.
Source: French Embassy
