Ghana on Monday kicked off a COVID-19 vaccination campaign with vaccines from the COVAX initiative.
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, and their spouses took the first doses in the West African country.
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Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, congratulated Ghana over “this historic milestone” and thanked President Akufo-Addo “for leading by example.”
On Twitter, Moeti said it is the start of Africa’s biggest immunization drive in history through the COVAX facility and marks a step forward in the continent’s fight against COVID-19.
The West African nation was the first African country to receive 600,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca doses from the COVAX facility last week.
COVAX is co-led by the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and WHO. It aims to accelerate the development and production of COVID-19 vaccines and guarantee fair and equitable access for every country.
So far, Ghana has confirmed 607 COVID-19-related deaths and 84,023 infections, with 77,972 recoveries, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
