More than 1.3 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine donated by the United States arrived via COVAX in Accra this afternoon.The delivery brings the total to more than 2.5 million doses donated by the United States to Ghana to date.
U.S. Ambassador Stephanie Sullivan was joined by Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Health, Honorable Tina Mensah, Chief Director of the Ministry of Health, Mr. Kwabena Boadu Oklu-Afari, Director of Public Health, Ghana Health Service, Dr. Asiedu Bekoe, Program Director, Expanded Program of Immunization, Ghana Health Service, Dr. Amponsah Achianu, Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mr. Henry Tachie-Menson, and the UNICEF Country Representative to Ghana, Ms. Anne-Claire Dufay, to receive the vaccines at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport.
“Vaccines are critical to defeating the pandemic. The 2.5 million vaccine doses donated to date by the United States will help protect Ghanaians from serious illness while we work together to stop the spread of COVID-19,” said Ambassador Sullivan.
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These are the same safe and effective vaccines used in the United States. The specialized syringes required for the Pfizer vaccine have already arrived in Ghana. The Ghana Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service will oversee vaccine distribution nationwide.
Delivered through COVAX, the donations are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s global efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 22, President Biden announced that the United States is doubling its commitment to providing vaccines worldwide to 1.1 billion doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The United States Government has already delivered more than 176 million doses to over 100 countries, including 36 million doses in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. With this new commitment, the American people are now donating three vaccine doses for every dose that has been administered in the United States.
The United States and Ghana have worked closely throughout the pandemic. Since March 2020, the United States Government, including elements of the Department of State, Department of Defense, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided more than $30 million to support Ghana’s COVID-19 response. These funds have provided personal protective equipment and training for medical professionals, medical equipment and testing supplies, vaccine distribution planning and support, economic assistance for impacted communities, three new regional Public Health Emergency Operations Centers in Ghana, as well as educational support for Ghanaian students during the pandemic.
The United States will continue to support Ghana’s COVID-19 response and vaccination efforts, including transport of vaccines to health facilities, detailed logistical planning, and outreach activities to encourage uptake of WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines.
As President Biden said, “… the United States will continue to lead. We’ll continue to drive historic commitments in vaccine donations – 1.1 billion and counting – so we can defeat COVID-19 together.”
Source: US Embassy, Accra
