In an effort to support vaccine rollout and boost the COVID-19 pandemic response in Senegal, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that it will provide $700,000 to UNICEF for vaccine readiness to the Government of Senegal. With these funds, UNICEF will reinforce Senegal’s cold chain to ensure safe distribution and delivery of vaccines nationwide, including those provided through the COVAX Facility. The funds will also be used to support the Government’s efforts to encourage the use of safe and effective vaccines and continued application of barrier measures in communities.
COVAX is an international initiative co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, and the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to improve equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines. These organizations work in partnership with other structures, including UNICEF, to slow the spread of the virus and save lives. The United States Government is the largest donor to COVAX, having provided $4 billion to date. In July 2021, the United States provided more than 300,000 Johnson & Johnson Janssen single-dose vaccines to Senegal through COVAX in coordination with the African Union.
USAID’s contribution to UNICEF is meant to complement COVAX donations. The USAID-UNICEF partnership comes at a timely moment in Senegal. Since the end of May 2021, Senegal has experienced a new surge in COVID-19 cases.
USAID’s support will enable UNICEF to continue its efforts to purchase key equipment to transport vaccines, such as cold boxes, ice packs, and vaccine carriers.
USAID support will also reinforce public health communication via mass media and social media. The funds will help the government and partners address misinformation and encourage continued efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Strengthening risk communication and community engagement around vaccines will play a central role in saving lives, containing the pandemic, protecting health care systems, and helping restore the economy.
“Ensuring affordable and equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine is an urgent priority to save lives, protect Senegal’s critical front-line health workers and enable a gradual return to normality. We are delighted to receive this support from USAID, which will help prepare for new arrivals of COVID-19 vaccines and ensure their safe distribution across the country,” said Silvia Danailov, UNICEF’s Representative to Senegal. She added that, “Despite impressive progress in the vaccination campaign, Senegal requires significant additional vaccine doses to reach more of its population to defeat the virus. It also needs additional support to strengthen the cold chain and to communicate with communities to create a favourable environment for immunisation, build trust and confidence, and ensure application of barrier measures while vaccine roll-out continues.”
Peter Trenchard, USAID Senegal Mission Director, stated, “Vaccines are a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19. Vaccination helps to stop the virus, protect against serious disease complications, and ease the heavy burden COVID-19 has placed on already-strained health care systems and workers. This is particularly important in the context of Senegal’s current surge, which has become increasingly worrisome in recent weeks.”
The USAID Mission Director pointed out that the United States is proud to be a global leader in the fight against COVID-19 and this vaccine delivery is one part of its commitment to ending the pandemic. Trenchard added, “USAID Senegal looks forward to assisting the Government of Senegal and other health sector partners to deliver, distribute, and administer life-saving vaccines to help get the country back on its feet and protect vulnerable populations. Through its partners, USAID Senegal will continue to encourage vaccine uptake across the country and reinforce the importance of wearing masks in order to save lives.”
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About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information on UNICEF’s activities, see www.unicef.org/fr.
About USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the lead U.S. Government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential. 2021 marks USAID’s 60th anniversary and 60 years of partnering with the people of Senegal. www.usaid.gov/senegal
For more information, please contact:
UNICEF - Emna Kayouli, Partnerships Specialist: +221 77 731 34 80, ekayouli@unicef.org
UNICEF - Moussa Diop, Communication Specialist: +221 77 644 33 22, modiop@unicef.org
USAID - Aissa Dabo, Development Outreach Communications Specialist: +221 77 418 36 62, adabo@usaid.gov