Kenya Receives 141,600 Covid-19 Vaccines From AVAT

Kenya has received 141,600 vaccine doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot from the African Vaccines Acquisition Trust (AVAT).

The consignment is part of a total of 6.4 million vaccine doses to be shipped to African Union Member States in August 2021.

The Member States who have ordered vaccines through AVAT will continue to receive shipments for the next following months.

These deliveries are part of the historic COVID-19 vaccine advance procurement agreement signed on 28 March 2021 by AVAT for the purchase of 220 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, with the potential to order an additional 180 million doses.

The agreement and the start of deliveries mark the first time that the African Union Member States have collectively purchased vaccines to safeguard the health of the African population. In total, the 400m vaccines acquired by AVAT are sufficient to immunize a third of the African population.

The agreement with Johnson & Johnson was made possible through a USD 2 billion facility provided by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), who are also the Financial and Transaction Advisers, Guarantors, Instalment Payment Advisers, and Payment Agents.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) provided technical support on the financing arrangements and on the alignment of the AU Ministers of Finance.

The CAS Dr. Mercy Mwangagi welcomed the arrival of the vaccines and said, “The purchase of these vaccines, will boost our national COVID-19 vaccination program in addition to supporting the ongoing rollout of the COVID.’’

AVAT was established by the African COVID-19 Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, set up in November 2020 under the African Union chairmanship of HE President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, as part of the African Union’s COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Access Strategy, and its goal of vaccinating at least 60 percent of the African population with safe and efficacious vaccines against COVID-19.

This vaccine acquisition and deployment is also supported by an innovative partnership between the World Bank and the AU, African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team to expedite access to vaccines throughout the continent.