USAID and UNICEF work with MoHP to improve access to COVID-19 vaccination in Egypt

CARIO, 25 December 2022- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have embarked on a one-year collaboration to support readiness, delivery, and post-delivery monitoring of COVID-19 vaccines in Egypt.

The USD 3.5 million grant will ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are distributed, administered, and disposed of safely to priority populations living in Egypt, including non-Egyptian migrants and refugees. The programme is being implemented in close partnership with the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) to generate COVID-19 vaccine demand and acceptance among communities by addressing misinformation and rumors.

USAID Mission Director Leslie Reed said, “Since the beginning of the pandemic, the U.S. Government, through USAID, has provided more than 29 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines and $64 million in support of Egypt’s coronavirus response, reaching over 18 million Egyptians with crucial health and economic assistance. We are proud of our longstanding partnership with UNICEF.”

The joint collaboration includes upgrading the national immunization cold chain system to maintain the integrity of all vaccines as well as providing syringes and safety boxes. In addition, the programme will strengthen online and offline capacity building for community-based workers and volunteers to enhance vaccine demand generation and adoption of COVID-19 preventive behaviors in partnership with MoHP and the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MoSS).

 “We are delighted to announce the first achievements of this partnership; UNICEF has supported MoHP with the procurement of 14,031,600 0.5mL AD syringes as well as 250,000 safety boxes. This will support the COVID-19 vaccination campaign implemented by MoHP,” said Jeremy Hopkins, UNICEF Representative in Egypt. “Together with USAID and MoHP, we commit to actions that will lead to tangible improvements in the lives of everyone living in Egypt.” He added.

The new USAID-funded collaboration supports the monitoring of behaviors and facilitating access to vaccination services using a real-time information system developed by UNICEF (RapidPro4) and powered by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED), MoHP and MoSS based on basic mobile phones.