Building on leadership in supporting equitable access to vaccination, France has entered into a new partnership with COVAX ? via Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF - to make access to vaccination faster and more effective, by supporting countries with the most fragile health systems and fighting vaccine hesitancy.
While volumes of vaccines arriving in countries are steadily increasing, COVAX continues to work closely with countries to support their efforts to ensure uptake of these doses. Gavi, UNICEF and the French government are launching a new project, working with in-country partners to better understand and tackle the challenges of planning, distribution and vaccination on the ground.
The project aim to help strengthen countries' capacity to increase vaccination numbers without de-stabilising the health system or disrupting routine vaccination campaigns. This partnership seeks to enhance uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, with a focus on vaccinating health workers and populations most at risk of developing a severe form of the disease. It will work with governments to mobilise actors on the ground (health authorities, international agencies and partners) and civil society organisations and communities, who have an essential role to play in mobilising support for these public health objectives.
Under the agreement, a 6-month pilot phase will start as early as November 2021 in two African countries (to be defined) among those with low vaccination coverage. A second phase of the initiative will expand best practices and immunisation support measures to other African countries.
This project marks a new step in France's commitment to vaccine solidarity, after more than a year of strong advocacy on equitable access to vaccines and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic through its support to COVAX and the ACT Accelerator.
Gavi, UNICEF and the French Government will partner to implement the initiative, working with other COVAX and in-country partners to ensure the success of this project.
More information about Gavi: https://www.gavi.org
More information about UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org