COVID-19 vaccine aid from China arrives in Somalia

A new shipment of 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Chinese government arrived in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, on Dec 5, 2021.

Chinese Ambassador to Somalia Fei Shengchao, Minister of Health of the Federal Government of Somalia Fowziya Abikar Nur, Somalia's Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Duran Ahmed Farah, UNICEF Representative in Somalia Mohamed Ag Ayoya, and other officials attended a handover ceremony at the airport.

Fei said that as the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus emerged and the epidemic resurged in some parts of the world, the Chinese government honored its commitment by providing 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to protect the lives and health of the Somali people.

The move is part of the Chinese government's efforts to fulfill its solemn commitment to make China's COVID-19 vaccines a global public good, ensure accessibility and affordability of COVID-19 vaccines in developing countries, and achieve fair and reasonable distribution of vaccines worldwide, Fei noted. In April 2021, the Chinese government donated 200,000 doses of vaccine to Somalia, becoming the first country to provide vaccine assistance to Somalia, he added.

In 2021, China provided over 1.85 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations, according to Fei, making it the top supplier of vaccines in the world.

China is ready to join hands with Somalia to fight the epidemic and further deepen medical and health cooperation between the two countries, Fei said.

Nur, on behalf of the federal government of Somalia, thanked China for the donation of vaccines. She said the vaccines will help strengthen Somalia's ability to fight the epidemic, and promised that the vaccines will be distributed to member state governments and various medical institutions as soon as possible and vaccination sites will be announced as well.

Ayoya, the representative of UNICEF in Somalia, said that UNICEF will work with Somali Ministry of Health to coordinate the transportation of the vaccines and carry out publicity campaigns on the important role of vaccination in fighting the epidemic.