Africa-Press – Angola. The Conference on the Impact of Vaccination, co-organized by Spain and Gavi (Global Alliance for Vaccines), begins on Tuesday (13th) in Madrid, the Spanish capital.
The event, which will be attended by the Angolan President, João Lourenço, will bring together representatives of multilateral organizations, governments, civil society, companies and universities.
The aim of the meeting is to assess the impact achieved by Gavi (an initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) from January 2021 until now, a period in which the initiative faced the double challenge of supporting, with its partners, routine immunization and respond to the needs of Covid-19.
The conference agenda foresees an intervention by President João Lourenço, invited to the event, taking into account his participation in the vaccination against Covid-19 in Angola, which registered, until 5 May, 105 thousand 669 patients and 1 thousand 936 deaths , according to official data.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, Angola administered, until April 15, 2023, a total of 25 million, 186 thousand 376 doses of vaccines, with 15 million 653 thousand 681 citizens having received the 1st dose, an immunization coverage of 83 Percent.
Of the total vaccines administered up to that period, eight million 738 thousand 631 were complete doses, which corresponds to a coverage of 46 percent.
On the subject of the conference, the Angolan Minister of Health, Sílvia Lutucuta, said this Monday, in Madrid, that Angola has had the support of Gavi in the customization of all campaigns by that alliance, UNICEF and WHO.
According to the official, Angola has had Gavi as a strategic partner since the 2000s, and, with its classification as a Middle Income Country, it has borne the costs of vaccination, using the General State Budget.
Sílvia Lutucuta, who was speaking to the Angolan press, underlined the fact that the country is recognized for its investment in the acquisition of vaccines, but said that it will continue to rely on the support of Gavi, partners and donors.
However, data from Gavi indicate that, since 2021, the initiative has provided more than 1.9 billion doses of Covid-19 to 146 countries, through COVAX, and supported 32 immunization campaigns in response to outbreaks that occurred in the year. from 2022.
The Global Alliance for Vaccines has also revitalized its immunization program against HPV (prevents against cancer), and should support the launch of the first vaccine against malaria in the world, later this year.
Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped immunize more than 981 million children and prevented more than 16.2 million deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 low-income countries.
Gavi plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems and funding global stockpiles of Ebola, cholera and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades, it is focused on protecting, mainly, children who have not received any vaccine.
The alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, vaccine industries, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other partners.
ANGOP
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