IPNEWS – Monrovia: Our West African brothers and sisters in Ghana today, February 24, became the first recipients of the global collaboration of Covid_19 vaccine supply by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners.

Ghana received 600,000 doses of the COVAX vaccines, which are part of an initial tranche of deliveries of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine licensed to the Serum Institute of India. The 600K doses represent part of the first wave of COVID vaccines that are going to be headed to several low and middle-income countries, according to the UNICEF Rep in Ghana, Ms. Anne-Claire Dufay.

“After a year of disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 80,700 Ghanaians getting infected with the virus and over 580 lost lives, the path to recovery for the people of Ghana can finally begin.

“This is a momentous occasion, as the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines into Ghana is critical in bringing the pandemic to an end. The only way out of this crisis is to ensure that vaccinations are available for all. We thank all partners that are supporting the COVAX Facility to deliver safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to all countries quickly and fairly,” a UNICEF statement states.

This specialized US agency further stated that the shipments also represent the beginning of what should be the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history. The World Health Organization (WHO) and others, including UNICEF, GAVI, etc, have planned to deliver close to two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines this year.

“This is an unprecedented global effort to make sure all citizens have access to vaccines. We are pleased that Ghana has become the first country to receive the COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX Facility. We congratulate the Government of Ghana – especially the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, and Ministry of Information – for its relentless efforts to protect the population. As part of the UN Country Team in Ghana, UNICEF and WHO reiterate our commitment to support the vaccination campaign and contain the spread of the virus, in close cooperation with all partners, including Gavi and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

There are reports that neighboring Côte d’Ivoire is scheduled to get doses of the vaccines by next week.

The COVAX Facility said they are also working closely with governments & manufacturers to ensure health workers & older people receive COVID-19 vaccines in all countries within the first 100 days of 2021. They plan that by the end of the year, they intend to vaccinate more than one billion people in low-level countries. In 2016, Africa’s population was estimated to be a little over 1.2 billion.

COVAX is co-led by GAVI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.