Spain donates 302,400 doses of coronavirus vaccine to Senegal

Senegal receives 302,400 doses of vaccine from Spain

Olga Cabarga, the Spanish ambassador to Senegal, on Thursday, February 10, delivered 302,400 doses of coronavirus vaccine from Spain to the Government of the African country. They were received in a delivery ceremony in the capital, Dakar, by Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, the Senegalese Minister of Health.

“Spain has opted for a multilateral approach to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, as evidenced by the donation of 302,400 vaccines made today to Senegal as well as our support for the COVAX initiative”, said Cabarga.

“We have donated more than 50 million vaccines through COVAX, of which at least 20 million vaccines will go to the African continent. Senegal is a priority country and a strategic partner for the Government of Spain”, the Spanish ambassador added.

Mr Cabarga stressed that this delivery “reflects Spain’s international solidarity with its partners, and the strong conviction that the vaccine is a global public good”.

COVAX is a mechanism promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO), among others, so that low-income countries can access coronavirus vaccines.

Mr Sarr thanked the Spanish ambassador for their donation and called on the entire population to come and be vaccinated. Currently, only 6.16 per cent of the Senegalese population has received the full schedule of coronavirus vaccines.

Senegal has so far confirmed nearly 85,300 cases of Covid-19 with some 1,950 deaths registered from the virus.

According to the WHO, Africa is still the continent with the fewest people vaccinated against coronavirus, with only around 11 per cent of the adult population receiving the full guideline.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s director for Africa, claimed on Thursday that, in contrast to last year, African countries are now receiving “a constant supply of doses”. Furthermore, according to World Bank data, the coronavirus pandemic has pushed 40 million Africans into extreme poverty, as reported by elespanol.com.

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