MTN donates $25m to procure 7m COVID-19 vaccines in Africa

MTN says it has donated $25 million to support the African Union’s COVID-19 vaccination programme.

The telco said the donation would help secure up to seven million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for health workers across the continent, which would, in turn, contribute to the vaccination initiative of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

“The devastating impact of COVID-19 has been unprecedented and profound. Public and private partnerships are needed if we are to succeed in the fight against the pandemic and restore social and economic norms for our continent and our communities,” Ralph Mupita, MTN CEO, said.

“We believe ongoing collaborations with key stakeholders across sectors are essential as vaccines are deployed in all our markets with communication tools, technology and digital services being vital support infrastructure for a successful mass vaccination programme.

“In the coming months, MTN Group will look at similar support commitments for the markets in which we operate in the Middle East.”

Commenting on the initiative, John Nkengasong, director of Africa CDC, said: “Our goal is to ensure that all those who need the COVID-19 vaccine have access to it very quickly but the biggest hurdle in Africa has been the financing of the vaccines and the logistics of vaccinating at scale”.

“We, therefore, welcome the right partnerships, like the one with MTN to achieve our minimum 60 percent vaccination target.”

It is estimated that healthcare workers make up five percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

According to a July 2020 report published by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 10,000 healthcare workers had been infected with COVID-19 in 40 African countries.

In December 2020, South Africa’s President revealed that 391 public healthcare workers in the country had died from the virus.

In the same month, the Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) revealed that 20 doctors died as a result of COVID-19 within a week.