Kenya has received a donation of 160,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from Slovakia and 700,000 doses of vaccine from France and Germany donated via the COVAX Facility.
This donation sums Team Europe’s total tally for Kenya, including COVAX deliveries to over 2 million doses. Team Europe has already delivered nearly 70 million vaccines free globally and commits to deliver 200 million by Christmas, while spreading their slogan of “no-one is safe until everyone is safe.”
The donated COVID-19 vaccine doses were handed over to Ambassador Arthur Adambi, Director for Middle East and COVID-19 Coordinator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and senior officials from the Ministry of Health.
They were handed over by Slovak Ambassador Katarina Žuffa Leligdonová, French Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Lionel Fabre and German deputy Ambassador Thomas Wimmer. The EU Delegation was represented by Trade Counsellor Martijn Boelen.
In addition to providing funding to COVAX, Germany is sharing 100 million vaccine doses. Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed in this context: “COVAX is the most important multilateral initiative for ensuring equitable access to and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.”
In June, France supplied 180,000 vaccines and oxygen supply plant systems, and Germany supplied mobile COVID-19 testing labs in 2020 and 900,000 surgical masks in 2021 to Kenya. France and Germany co-founded and globally support with Ksh. 308 billion the ‘Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A)’ platform in 2020. ACT-A’s goal is to advance equitable access for all to vaccines, medicines and diagnostics and to strengthen health systems.
Speaking while handing over the vaccines, Slovak Ambassador Katarina Žuffa Leligdonová said, “Slovakia has heard the loud and clear calls for vaccine justice”, stressed “The pandemic can only be overcome if we join forces together. The Slovak government already provided 50 000 pieces of diagnostic tests and 20 000 face masks in July 2020, to mitigate the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in Kenya. This time, Slovakia is joining EU family in Nairobi, providing 160 000 Astra Zeneca vaccines. It brings the overall Slovak contribution to Kenya in the context of fighting the pandemic up to Ksh. 87 million.”