The Port of Maputo has vaccinated more than 25 000 members of staff and their families against Covid-19 as part of a campaign by businesses in the country to support the government’s vaccination campaign.This was part of a private sector initiative led by the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) and other business partners.According to Statista, Mozambique had administered around 3.68 million doses of (Covid-19) vaccine by October 8, 2021.The cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in the country is over 151 000. Mozambique started the immunisation campaign in March, with vaccines received through the COVAX initiative.The “Univax” campaign by Mozambican business began on July 5.The Vero Cell vaccine from Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm arrived in Mozambique on June 30.The 319 companies that joined the initiative purchased around 500 000 doses of vaccines, of which 139 590 were donated to the government of Mozambique for the immunisation of the marginalised population.The objective of the initiative, which was born in April from a group of private sector entities, was to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the workforce of interested private sector actors and their families, ensuring the stability of the workforce, contributing to the reduction of pressure on the general budget of the government, as well as accelerating the ongoing vaccination process, according to a statement.In June, the World Bank approved a $100-million grant from the International Development Association (IDA) and a $15-million grant from the Global Financing Facility (GFF) in support of Mozambique’s efforts to expand its current Covid-19 vaccination campaign.The funds will be utilised to acquire, manage, and deploy Covid-19 vaccines and to strengthen national health systems’ preparedness and capacities, as well as to ensure continuity of essential health services, particularly for women, children, and adolescents.It will also support vaccine logistics, including cold chain inputs, storage, and transportation, as well as training community health workers in rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine campaign.“This operation will enable the purchase of approximately seven million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, the single largest contribution to Mozambique’s vaccination efforts thus far.This will provide coverage for approximately 20% of the eligible population,” said Miguel Angel San Joaquin Polo, senior health economist and the operation’s task team leader.
