Mauritius has received 151,200 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines from the Mastercard Foundation and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), under their joint initiative, ‘Saving Lives and Livelihoods’.
The Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Jagutpal, underlined that Mauritius recognises the efforts of various international organisations to ensure that vaccines are distributed equitably around the world. According to him, we will not win this battle if we act in isolation. The response, he emphasised, must be collective and global.
In addition, Dr Kailesh Jagutpal indicated that over 70% of the population is vaccinated, which he said, has undoubtedly enabled the country to alleviate the severity of the viral epidemic at the local level.
As for the President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation, Mrs. Reeta Roy, she said that the timely delivery of these vaccines underscores the effectiveness of the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT). In collaboration with Africa CDC and multiple organisations, the Mastercard Foundation will support the rollout of vaccinations to millions of people on the continent, she added.
She remarked that much remains to be done to urgently increase immunisation rates and called on governments, donors, civil society and all other actors to step up to save lives and livelihoods in Africa.
Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, African Union special envoy, expressed gratitude to AVAT, through which he said enough vaccines to immunize 450 millionpeople by September 2022. In this regard, Africa has fulfilled its end of the bargain, he added.
In the same vein, the Chairman of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, underpinned the remarkable collaborative effort under AVAT, in which Afreximbank is proud to have participated. He stressed that thanks to these combined efforts, the reopening of trade and commerce across the continent will be accelerated.
United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Dr Vera Songwe, added that AVAT vaccines, partly made in South Africa, are proof that local production and pooling of procurement, as envisioned in the African Continental Free Trade Area are essential to achieving a more sustainable post-COVID economic recovery on the continent.
Saving Lives and Livelihoods
Through this initiative, the Mastercard Foundation purchases vaccines for more than 65 million people in Africa. The vaccines will be distributed to countries by UNICEF. Launched in June 2021, ‘Saving Lives and Livelihoods’, is now a $ 1.5 billion partnership that aims to help immunise millions of people and develop a workforce for vaccine manufacturing. In addition, it will strengthen the capacity of Africa CDC to oversee a historic vaccination campaign, and thus respond effectively to future epidemics.
