August 3, 2022, Windhoek, Namibia: The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, has commenced the in-country implementation of the Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative in Namibia to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccination. The vaccination drive is coming at a time when the country only has 26% of the adult population fully vaccinated.
This mass vaccination campaign in Namibia aims to ensure that COVID-19 vaccination efforts are integrated with childhood vaccinations leading to the protection of the communities from the impacts of COVID-19 and childhood vaccine-preventable diseases.
Under its Urgent Support Program and the pooled fund for Namibia, the Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative has provided a total of $479,000 to administer 43,257 COVID-19 vaccines and delivered 89,220 vaccines from the central stores to the health facilities. It has also recruited 29 data clerks who helped reduce the data backlog from 40% to 18%, procurement of PPEs (400 face masks, 400 hand sanitizers, and 400 hand gloves), and printing of M&E tools (25,000 vaccination cards, 25,000 screening forms, and 300 registers).
In this current support, the Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative and the Ministry of Health of Namibia have planned a target of 27 new vaccination centres while strengthening 70 COVID-19 vaccination centres and vaccinating more than 500,000 within 12 months in the selected sites.
“Africa CDC is very honoured today to launch the country implementation of the Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, to support the Government of Namibia as the country launches its national integrated mass vaccine campaign. COVID-19 vaccines remain a critical tool in reducing transmission and ultimately returning the economies of Africa to normal. We recognizing that the only way to end the pandemic and safeguard lives and livelihoods on the continent is to immunize a critical mass of the African population rapidly. The Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative will include a strong focus on Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) to enable Namibian citizens, particularly young people and rural populations, to understand the safety and benefits of vaccination. RCCE will play a crucial role in creating demand for uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations and supporting other non-pharmaceutical efforts to break the transmission chain and mitigate the pandemic’s impact”, said Dr. Lul Pout Riek, Coordinator of the Africa CDC Southern Africa Regional Coordinating Centre.
The Africa CDC Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative is a $1.5bn partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and launched in June 2021 to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for at least 65 million people and support the delivery to millions across the continent. A total of $2 million of the fund has been provided to kickstart the first year of implementation in Namibia.
The initiative will synergize the efforts of the Government, Africa CDC, and other partners in increasing COVID-19 vaccine uptake. The implementation campaign will focus on Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), vaccine capacity, logistics, and vaccine surveillance to enable Namibia to reach its COVID-19 vaccination target. The ultimate goal of Africa CDC through the Saving lives and Livelihoods program is to accelerate 70% vaccine coverage of the African population by the end of 2022.
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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 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 a specialized technical institution 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: http://www.africacdc.org
About the Mastercard Foundation
The Mastercard Foundation is a Canadian foundation and one of the largest in the world, with approximately $40 billion in assets. The Foundation was created in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company. Since its inception, the Foundation has operated independently of the company. The Foundation’s policies, operations, and program decisions are determined by its Board. 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: KandehY@africa-union.org
- Mastercard Foundation Nonye Mpho Omotola
Lead, Health Program Communications, Human Capital Development nomotola@mastercardfdn.org
