Scottish govt supports Covid vaccine access

 The Scottish Government is set to give the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) 500 000 pounds (about K545 661 558 million) to support equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines in Malawi.

A statement Unicef Malawi issued on Friday said the money is expected to support both the Covid-19 vaccination campaign and strengthening of the country’s health system through provision of equipment, resources and technical support.

Reads part of the statement: “The donation to Unicef Malawi is part of a wider donation of 1.5 million pounds by the Scottish Government to Unicef to support access to Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics in three African countries namely Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia.”

According to the statement, the money is also expected to help strengthen the country’s health system through provision of oxygen supplies and procuring oxygen generation plants.

Such initiatives will help create a sustained impact for both the Covid-19 response and the treatment of respiratory illnesses for years to come.

Further to that, the statement said the money will also help Unicef Malawi provide information about, and build confidence and acceptance of Covid-19 vaccines at community level which could reach an estimated 5.3 million people.

The statement quoted Unicef health specialist for Eastern and Southern Africa Antoinette Eleonore Ba who said countries in Eastern and Southern Africa have made great strides in tackling Covid-19.

“But there is still much more work to be done to support the operational planning and logistics of Covid-19 vaccine roll outs.

“Scottish Government funding will provide valuable support for Unicef’s response in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia, including

 making sure communities have the information they need to access vaccines, providing supplies such as syringes for administering the vaccines and increasing cold chain capacity and oxygen provision,” said Eleonore Ba in the statement.

The statement also quoted Minister for International Development Neil Gray who said Covid-19 remains one of the greatest challenges.

“This partnership with Unicef will allow us to support our partner country governments in Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda in their Covid-19 response, and will go some way to addressing vaccine inequity in Africa,” he said