Country stories

Al-Shabaab has forced the shutdown of health facilities close to the Somalia border in Northern Kenya. A group of women activists are fighting back, ensuring COVID-19 vaccines reach the most vulnerable.

Since the first consignment of COVAX doses arrived in Malawi in mid-March, vaccination centres like Chileka Health Centre, just outside Blantyre, have recorded enthusiastic turn-out.

The delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to Eswatini through COVAX means the elderly now have the chance to protect themselves against the disease. VaccinesWork visits a vaccination session in Lobamba.

Ending the COVID-19 crisis hinges on all countries being able to vaccinate their people. A lot goes into getting ready.

Over 50 health workers in Uganda have lost their lives to COVID-19 – a huge toll for a country with just 0.17 doctors per thousand people in some areas. With remaining health workers overworked and vulnerable, some relief has come in the form of COVAX vaccinations.

Kigali – Forty-eight hours after Rwanda received shipments of COVID-19 vaccines, vaccinations began in earnest, with high-risk population given priority. The country plans to vaccinate a third of the population in 2021 and double that figure next year.

In a huge country like Nigeria, ensuring the right people receive COVAX vaccines is not just a question of how, but where. Could geospatial technology, trialled during previous polio campaigns, make a difference?

On 15 March 2020, Somalia received 300 000 doses of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX Facility to protect frontline workers and elderly people with chronic health conditions from COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) hears back from some of the first people vaccinated in the capital city.

Ghana became the first African country to receive vaccines through the COVAX initiative in February. Meet one of the nurses spearheading the vaccination effort.

Ghana became the first African country to receive COVAX doses in February, kicking off a mammoth logistical effort in the country to get these doses to the frontline workers that need them. #VaccinesWork spoke to the cold chain experts making it happen.