ANKARA (AA) – Some 355,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines shipped by the UN-led COVAX facility have arrived in Niger’s capital Niamey, the WHO said on Thursday.
"Despite supply challenges, we have seen COVAX deliveries this week in Comoros, Guinea Bissau, Niger, Mauritania & Zambia — with delivery expected shortly in Cameroon," the UN health agency tweeted.
According to UNICEF, a total of 1.6 million doses are expected to arrive in the country through the global multilateral initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
COVAX aims to provide at least 2 billion doses of vaccines to middle- and low-income countries by the end of 2021.
Niger launched an immunization drive with China-donated coronavirus vaccines on March 29. Health workers and the elderly with underlying health conditions are among the priority groups to be vaccinated.
The West African nation of 24 million people has reported 5,081 COVID-19 cases, including 189 related deaths.
