Africa-Press – Mauritius. Mauritius has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccine coverage on the African continent with 79 percent of the population completely vaccinated. This statement was made today by the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr.
Kailesh Jagutpal, at the official launching of the workshop on Saving Lives and Livelihoods Microplanning Programme. The event is held at the Ravenala Attitude Hotel, Turtle Bay in Balaclava and is an initiative of the Ministry of Health and Wellness in collaboration with Africa Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC).
As for the Saving Lives and Livelihoods programme, it is a partnership between the Africa CDC and the Mastercard Foundation to purchase vaccines against COVID-19 for at least 50 million people.
In his address, the Health Minister stated that the programme targets to vaccinate 70 percent of the African population against COVID-19 over the next three years.
He highlighted that 1.5 million USD has been earmarked for targeted intervention in critical areas to save the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in Africa and fasten the continent’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
He pointed out that the programme is anchored on the African Union’s efforts towards COVID-19 vaccine equity and provide support to member states for procurement of vaccines.
Other objectives include the purchase of 60 million COVID-19 vaccines; support the delivery and administration of vaccines; lay the groundwork for vaccine manufacturing; and strengthen the capacity of Africa CDC.
Minister Jagutpal spoke of the constraints for the procurement of vaccines during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic adding that Government is thankful to the African Union, the COVAX Facility and the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team.
On this note, he urged the elderly and people with comorbidities to have their booster dose to protect themselves. He is confident that the workshop will enable experts to come up with a strategy for a more rapid and effective vaccination campaign.
For his part, the Senior Technical Officer of the CDC, Dr Patrick Chanda, lauded Mauritius for taking timely key measures against the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerating its vaccination campaign.
The CDC, he underlined, is engaged in strengthening the capacity of Africa’s public health institutions as well as partnerships to detect and respond effectively to disease threats and outbreaks. He also called for a stronger regional cooperation to promote efficiency in the health systems and services and to better protect the population.
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