By Deborah Hassan
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday announced that the West African nation of Ghana has received its first shipment of free Covid-19 vaccines from Covax, a global scheme to procure and distribute inoculations for free, as the world races to contain the pandemic.
A joint statement issued by WHO and UNICEF, on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, by UNICEF expressed pleasure at the development.
It stated, “We are pleased that Ghana has become the first country to receive the Covid-19 vaccines from the Covax facility.
“The 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine licensed by the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India, are part of an initial tranche of deliveries headed to several low and middle-income countries.”
Health workers and other frontline staff will receive first doses of the vaccines,” UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore said.
“The next phase in the fight against this disease can begin – the ramping up of the largest immunisation campaign in history.”
According to France24, the Emirates flight carrying the vaccines touched down at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport shortly after 0740 GMT, according to images broadcast on television.
Covax, launched last April to help ensure a fairer distribution of coronavirus vaccines between rich and poor nations, said it would deliver two billion doses to its members by the end of the year and aims to deliver 2,412,000 doses of the vaccine to Ghana.
With a recorded 80,759 Covid-19 cases and 582 deaths since the start of the pandemic, thought to be under-reported due to low testing, Ghana has authorised the use of the Covax vaccines, in addition to Sputnik V vaccine from Russia.