Africa CDC Saving Lives and Livelihoods Initiative Expands Implementation in Southern Africa

LUSAKA, Zambia, 14 November 2022 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/-The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and Mastercard Foundation today rolled out a large-scale, multi-country COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Southern Africa under the Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative.

The Saving Lives and Livelihood is a $1.5 billion partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and the Africa CDC designed to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for nearly 65 million people, enable vaccine delivery and administration to vaccinate millions more, develop a workforce to support continental vaccine manufacturing, and strengthen the Africa CDC. To date, the Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative has enabled over 6 million people in Africa to access COVID-19 vaccines, while helping to accelerate vaccine uptake in countries facing the risk of mass vaccine expiration.

Speaking at the flagging-off event in Zambia, President Hakainde Hichilema welcomed the Saving Lives and Livelihoods vaccination drive to Southern Africa alongside several African Heads of State and Ministers of Health. “We’ve gathered here today to kick off the Saving Lives and Livelihoods COVID-19 vaccine acceleration program in Southern Africa’s 10 countries, as well as to celebrate our partnership with Africa CDC and the Mastercard Foundation,’’ the President said.

In Zambia, the Saving Lives and Livelihoods program is currently operating or supporting a total of 174 mobile vaccination sites, including deploying vaccinators, data entry clerks, and community mobilizers. Moving forward, the initiative onboard an additional 4,000 community-based volunteers (CBVs) to conduct door-to-door community sensitizations and mobilization across the country.

The Saving Lives and Livelihoods’ new phase of vaccination in Southern Africa will reach several additional countries including Namibia, Lesotho, Malawi, and Botswana. It will include support that enables countries to conduct vaccine safety surveillance (pharmacovigilance), COVID-19 vaccination capacity strengthening (CVCS), and risk communication and community engagement (RCCE).

The Acting Director General of Africa CDC, Dr Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, stated that “Our ambitious target is to vaccinate 70% of the African population by the end of 2022. As of 10 November 2022, the overall coverage is 25.2% of people fully vaccinated. Most countries have coverage below 30 per cent (total population) – compared to a global average of 60 per cent. Additionally, in most African countries where data is available, the COVID-19 vaccination coverage among the high-priority population, including health workers, elderly people, people living with co-morbidities and children remains low. Here is an opportunity to scale-up COVID-19 vaccination with a focus on achieving 100 per cent coverage among high-risk groups”.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect lives and livelihoods in Africa. According to the World Bank, each month of delay in effective vaccine deployment costs Africa $13.8 billion in lost GDP. In contrast, faster vaccine deployment would boost continental growth to 5.1 percent in 2022 and 5.4 percent in 2023, as containment measures are eased and spending increases.

“It is important that we get behind African public health institutions and support the expansion of Africa’s public health workforce—two key pillars of the New Public Health Order for Africa, which are mirrored in the Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative. Moving forward, we will accelerate our work on these priorities to enable economic resilience across Africa,” said Reeta Roy, President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Mastercard Foundation and Africa CDC.

About the Saving Lives and Livelihoods Initiative

The Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative is a three-year, US $1.5 billion partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) designed to save the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in Africa and hasten the economic recovery of the continent in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative is committed to acquiring vaccines for more than 65 million people, supporting the delivery of vaccinations to millions across the continent, laying the groundwork for vaccine manufacturing in Africa by focusing on human capital development, and strengthening the capacity of Africa CDC. For more information on the Saving Lives and

Livelihoods initiative, please visit: https://mastercardfdn.org/faq-saving-lives-and-livelihoods/

About the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)

Africa CDC is the autonomous continental health agency of the African Union that strengthens the capacity and capability of Africa’s public health institutions as well as partnerships to detect and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats and outbreaks, based on data-driven interventions and programs. For more information, please visit: https://www.africacdc.org

About the Mastercard Foundation

The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. It is one of the largest private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. It was established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company. The Foundation is independent, and its policies, operations, and program decisions are determined by its own Board of Directors and senior leadership team. It is a registered Canadian charity with hubs in Toronto, Kigali, Accra and Nairobi, and offices in Kampala, Lagos, Dakar, and Addis Ababa. For more information on the Foundation, please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)

Yayha Kandeh

Ag. Communication Officer, Southern Africa Regional Coordinating Center

Mobile: +2203225882

Email: [email protected]

Mastercard Foundation

Nonye Mpho Omotola

Lead, Health Program Communications, Human Capital Development

Email: [email protected]

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