Public Management

EU backs Covax initiative with €500mln

EU backs Covax initiative with €500mln
Tuesday, 23 February 2021 13:47

The European Union announced last week an additional support of €500 million in favor of the WHO-led Covax initiative. This brings to €1 billion EU’s total commitment to the scheme.

The amount consists of €300 million in EU grant and €200 million in guarantees from the European Fund for Sustainable Development plus (EFSD+) that will back a loan by the European Investment Bank.

Ursula von der Leyen (pictured), who heads the European Commission, believes the COVAX program is needed to ensure an effective response to the spread of the coronavirus worldwide. “COVAX is best placed to help us reach this goal. This is why we decided to double the European Commission's contribution to COVAX, to €1 billion. With this new financial boost, we want to make sure vaccines are soon delivered to low and middle-income countries. Because we will only be safe if the whole world is safe,” she said.

This new EU initiative strengthens the COVAX program’s capacity to better support the African Union in the acquisition and redistribution of vaccines, especially in a context where Africa is strongly affected by the second wave of coronavirus contamination. The number of confirmed cases has reached 3,829,402 with 101,336 deaths.

The Covax initiative, set up to ensure equitable and efficient distribution of the vaccine in the poorest countries, has been struggling since April 2020. In Africa, many countries such as Rwanda, Kenya, Angola, Algeria, and South Africa have joined the project. However, the difficulty faced by pharmaceutical companies in ensuring the distribution of vaccines to all, and the fact that rich countries have ordered doses far above their needs have slowed the process. In a fair play move, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed last week that up to 5% of American and European vaccine doses be reserved for Africa, while the continent has already begun looking to Russia and China to make up for the shortfall.

In addition to its support for the Covax program, the EU has also approved €100 million ($120 million) in humanitarian aid for the continent.

Additional Info

  • communiques: Non
  • couleur: N/A
On the same topic
Côte d’Ivoire will receive $234 million for a sustainable urban mobility project in Abidjan. Gambia will receive $32.2 million to build...
Stanbic IBTC and Zenith Bank cut monthly card spending abroad to $500 and $200 Foreign reserves fall by $3.5 billion in six...
Cauri Money launches Gajo Money, an e-wallet for the Cameroonian diaspora, targeting €120 million in transactions by end-2025. The fintech...
• Kenya and ASR sign deal to reduce risk on projects worth up to $2 billion.• Risk cover will target infrastructure, energy, logistics, and trade...
Most Read
01

• Investors seem to keep focusing on yields, which are high for the moment• New Leadership might see...

Afreximbank Bonds Retain Market Confidence Despite Moody’s Downgrade
02

• Inflation within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) fell to a two-year low of 0....

UEMOA: Inflation Drops to 0.6% in May, Driven by Lower Food Prices
03

• Qatar Airways and Kenya Airways establish strategic agreement, introducing a third daily flight be...

Qatar Airways Expands its Network in Africa, Building Presence in Kigali, Johannesburg, and Nairobi
04

• EY is preparing to leave Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa by 2026• The exit could unlock $500 m...

EY’s Exit Creates $1bn Opportunity in Francophone Africa Consulting Market
05

• Interbank volumes rose 18.7% in May, while rates declined across the market• The BCEAO cut its mai...

WAEMU Sees Easing Conditions on Regional Interbank Market
Enter your email to receive our newsletter

Ecofin Agency provides daily coverage of nine key African economic sectors: public management, finance, telecoms, agribusiness, mining, energy, transport, communication, and education.
It also designs and manages specialized media, both online and print, for African institutions and publishers.

SALES & ADVERTISING

regie@agenceecofin.com 
Tél: +41 22 301 96 11 
Mob: +41 78 699 13 72
Média kit : Download

EDITORIAL
redaction@agenceecofin.com

More information
Team
Publisher

ECOFIN AGENCY

Mediamania Sarl
Rue du Léman, 6
1201 Geneva
Switzerland

 

Ecofin Agency is a sector-focused economic news agency, founded in December 2010. Its web platform was launched in June 2011. ©Mediamania.

 
 

Please publish modules in offcanvas position.