136,800 doses of COVID-19 vaccine donated by France arrive in Guinea-Bissau

Bissau, 25 March 2022: Today, 136,800 doses of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen (J&J/JANSSEN) COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Guinea-Bissau. The vaccines were donated by the Government of France through the COVAX platform, a mechanism in which, UNICEF is the entity responsible for the procurement and transportation of the vaccines. This vaccine donation is another evidence of the ongoing efforts to protect the population of Guinea-Bissau from COVID-19.

"This donation will reinforce the amount of COVID-19 vaccine doses available at the country level, at a time when vaccination is underway throughout the country," said the Ambassador of France to Guinea-Bissau, Mr. Terence Wills.

"We are grateful to the Government of France for this generous donation of vaccines to Guinea-Bissau as it is another clear sign towards equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccines to countries with fewer resources," said Etona Ekole, UNICEF Representative. This donation will allow to continue vaccinating a large number of people in a short period of time, as it is a single dose vaccine. I therefore urge all those who are eligible to be vaccinated", she concluded.

In March the World Health Organization (WHO) approved for emergency use the vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson/Janssen. It was the first vaccine against COVID-19 in a single dose regimen which is a clear advantage for the logistics of vaccination.

The COVAX initiative represents a partnership between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Global Alliance for Vaccines (GAVI), WHO and UNICEF, with funding from the United States, the European Union, the World Bank, the African Union and other partners. This delivery is another step towards the goal of ensuring equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines worldwide in what will be the largest vaccine procurement and distribution operation in history, as part of an unprecedented effort to distribute at least 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally by the end of 2021.

"The COVAX initiative has been a key partner in equitably distributing vaccines around the world and most especially in Guinea-Bissau, where it has been a challenge, responding to the demands of vaccination to the population," said the High Commissioner for COVID-19, Dr. Tumane Baldé. "The donation of 136,800 doses of Jansen vaccine, developed by Johnson & Johnson, will allow us to continue vaccinating the Guinean population contributing to the achievement of the 70% target population of 18 or older vaccinated, especially, being a single dose vaccine. We are grateful for this donation by the government of France, and we reinforce the desire and commitment to have our population vaccinated and protected against COVID-19", he concluded.

Updated vaccination data as of March 4, shows that 75% of the target population of 18 and above have at least one dose of vaccine, representing a total of 515,764 of the population and 50% of the same population have the full vaccine, which is equivalent to 339,123.