Ghana has become the first country to receive coronavirus vaccines through the Covax vaccine-sharing initiative.

The World Health Organization (WHO) programme aims to ensure that vaccines are shared fairly among all nations.

Covax is aiming to deliver about two billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines globally by the end of the year.

Many rich nations, who began their own vaccinations months ago, have faced criticism for buying or ordering more vaccines than they need.

A total of 600,000 doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and produced by the Serum Institute of India arrived in Ghana's capital Accra on Wednesday.

Vaccinations are expected to start there next week, with prioritised groups such as health workers, people over 60, people with underlying health conditions, and senior officials.

In a joint statement, the WHO and the United Nations children's fund (Unicef) said it was a momentous occasion and "critical in bringing the pandemic to an end".

The West African country - with a population of 30 million - has recorded more than 80,700 cases of coronavirus and 580 deaths since the pandemic began. These numbers are believed to fall short of the actual toll because of low levels of testing.

Though the vaccines are not generally intended for children, Unicef is involved in the scheme because of its expertise in procurement and the logistics of vaccine delivery.

It told the BBC that Ghana was one of the countries selected to receive the first batch of vaccine doses "as it met the conditions precedent for receiving the vaccine".

Source: BBC News

BDST: 1929 HRS, FEB 24, 2021
SMS