COVID-19 Coronavirus: €100 million from the EU to support vaccination campaign in Africa. Anti-COVID action also in conflict areas

EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, is today visiting the African centres for disease control and prevention (Africa CDC) in Addis Ababa. According to a statement issued from Brussels, the visit “marks the start of the implementation of the EU’s new €100 million humanitarian initiative in support of the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in Africa”. This initiative “is part of the European Commission’s efforts to ensure equitable and fair access to safe and effective vaccines for all”. Janez Lenarčič said this funding “will help to ensure that no one is left behind”. The EU initiative, with a steering role of the Africa CDC, will support two complementary dimensions of the vaccination campaigns. One track of indicative €25 million in funding “will aim to support the rollout of the vaccination campaign in African countries. This will include the support of capacity building of national health authorities and health care workers. It will also address critical logistical gaps, including equipment”. The second track of an indicative €65 million in funding “aims to support the rollout of vaccination campaigns in specific humanitarian settings, notably in conflict and hard-to-reach areas, implemented through needs-specific activities, in close cooperation with various EU humanitarian partners”. A further €10 million is in reserve, “to be allocated to any of two tracks as needed”.
Valentina Bombelli