Cape Town - Sudan has now surpassed its 10% Covid-19 vaccination milestone, a significant step towards protecting lives and curbing vaccine inequity, the World Health Organization said this week.
The progress is evidence of continued and sustained efforts by the Sudanese government, as well as stakeholders and partners, to sustain Covid-19 vaccination across the country amid competing health priorities and socio-economic challenges.
Covax, the major supplier of Covid-19 vaccines to Sudan, had delivered over 11.2 million doses of vaccines by July 4.
The country’s vaccination efforts have been characterised by several strategies undertaken in partnership with stakeholders.
Dr Richard Mihigo, the director of Covid-19 vaccine delivery, co-ordination and integration at Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, which provides procurement and delivery at scale for Covax, said: “Sudan has rolled out several approaches since the start of Covid-19 vaccination to increase vaccine demand and uptake across the country, including a monthly week-long campaign. Sudan also incorporates Covid-19 vaccination into routine immunisation campaigns, among other approaches.
“With Covax now having enough supply to help Sudan and other (lower-income) countries achieve targets and ensure populations are fully protected, it is important to seize the opportunity to achieve vaccine equity.
“Through the Covid-19 vaccine delivery partnership, Covax and other partner initiatives, we are providing co-ordinated, tailored support to governments across the continent focused on urgently overcoming delivery bottlenecks and rapidly turning vaccines into vaccinations.
“We congratulate the country for the commitment and dedication, and look forward to continuing to working together to protect the people of the Sudan from Covid-19.”
According to the WHO, in January 2022 some 34 countries were below 10% coverage with two doses of Covid-19 vaccines. However, that number is now 14.
Over 632 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been delivered by Covax to the African continent, supporting vaccination efforts in 46 countries.
In total, Covax has now shipped over 1.56 billion Covid-19 vaccines to 146 countries across the world.
IOL