The Mastercard Foundation announced Tuesday that it will donate $1.3 billion to help the African Union and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention vaccinate millions of Africans and assist with the continent’s economic recovery over the next three years.
The new initiative — which is called Saving Lives and Livelihoods — aims to acquire COVID-19 vaccines for at least 50 million people, bolster the work of Africa CDC, and support the deployment of vaccinations to millions more across the continent, Mastercard Foundation President and CEO Reeta Roy said during a press conference.
The money is also intended to prepare the workforce for vaccine manufacturing on the continent, she said.
“Ensuring equitable access and delivery of vaccines across Africa is urgent,” Roy wrote in a statement. “This initiative is about valuing all lives and accelerating the economic recovery of the continent.”
African nations may have to restart COVID-19 vaccination efforts
A global shortage of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine due to the crisis in India has left African countries in the lurch. The director of Africa CDC said they might have to restart vaccination efforts.
Why it matters: The African Union wants to vaccinate approximately 750 million people — 60% of the people on the continent, or the entire adult population — by the end of 2022. Currently, less than 2% of Africa’s population has received a COVID-19 vaccine, Africa CDC Director John Nkengasong said during the press briefing. Africa CDC has sought to partner with global funders, the private sector, and governments to increase vaccination rates.
Building Africa’s capacity to manufacture its own vaccines “is not just good for the continent, it’s the only sustainable path out of the pandemic and into a health-secure future,” said Nkengasong.
What’s next: The Mastercard Foundation is buying single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines under an agreement between the African Union and the pharmaceutical company that gives Africa discounted access to at least 220 million doses. The Mastercard Foundation plans to start delivering them by August.