Malawi has received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines via the COVAX Facility. The delivery is part of a first wave of arrivals that will continue in the coming days and weeks.

On 5 March, COVAX shipped 360 000 doses of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine, from the Serum Institute of India (SII).  This first batch will be followed by others as Malawi expects to receive about 1.5 million dosses under this facility. In total, at least 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be delivered by COVAX by the end of 2021 globally.

EU and its member states and the European Investment Bank are the largest contributors to the COVAX Facility. The representatives of the European Union and its member states joined the Malawi Government and other key partners in welcoming this shipment.

Speaking when she received the shipment at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe, Malawi Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, said the vaccine has come at a right time as it will be used as an added tool to the strategies that the Ministry of Health has put in place to reduce and stop the spread of Covid-19 in Malawi.

COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), working in partnership with UNICEF as well as the World Bank, civil society organisations, manufacturers, and others.

“COVAX’s mission is to help end the acute phase of the pandemic as quickly as possible by enabling global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

See Also

• COVAX