The United Nations has listed 14 airlines that will be used to distribute COVID-19 vaccines around the world, but Kenya Airways is missing from the list. KQ was eyeing the lucrative investment and even converted Boeing 787 into a cargo plane.
Only two airlines from Africa have been picked; Ethiopian Airline and Nairobi-based Astral Aviation. Many airlines had banked on the vaccine distribution business as a way to bounce back into business after being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kenya Airways had late last year launched a modern pharma cargo facility at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) as it eyed vaccine distribution business but as things stand, KQ might have done all that in vain. Was due diligence done?
While announcing the selection of the 14 airlines, the UN said “These airlines have signed agreements with UNICEF to support the prioritization of delivery of Covid-19 vaccines, essential medicines, medical devices, and other critical supplies to respond to the pandemic.”
The selected carriers are expected to transport 600 million doses of the vaccine between March and December 2021. These are the free vaccines that the World Health Organisation is supplying to Africa to cover about 20 percent of the population in the continent.
UNICEF and Gavii are paying for the vaccines for Africa while UNICEF is doing the procurement and logistics.