(Ecofin Agency) - Rwanda wants to mobilize a total of $15 million to acquire the first Covid-19 vaccines. The information was revealed by the Minister of Finance, Uzziel Ndagijimana (pictured).

This first batch of vaccines will be cover about 30% of the population. The operation will target high-risk people, including adults aged 65 or older, and health sector workers who are on the front line in the fight against covid-19.

This announcement comes at a time when hopes for a vaccine by the end of 2020, or early 2021, are growing, given recent announcements by pharmaceutical companies such as Moderna or Pfizer about the good results of their clinical trials.

In Africa, Morocco was the first to announce an imminent mass vaccination campaign for its population. Worldwide, strategies put in place by the WHO such as the Covax program aim to facilitate equitable access for all countries to the vaccines that will be produced against the pandemic.

“Rwanda is part of the Covax framework and arrangements are underway where some funds will be contributed and the government will raise the rest,” announced Minister Ndagijimana.

As a reminder, according to the latest assessment of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Rwanda has 5,851 confirmed cases of covid-19, with 47 deaths and 5,345 recoveries.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou