• As part of a pledge to share at least 5% of domestic supply of vaccines with its development partners, the first doses donated by Portugal through COVAX have reached Senegal.

  • The 298,700 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by Portugal arrived in Dakar on 2 October 2021, and will be formally handed over to the Senegalese authorities next 18 October, in a ceremony that will take place in the Ministry of Health and Social Action of Senegal, with the participation of H.E. the Minister of Health and Social Action of Senegal, Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, and of H.E. the Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal, Francisco André.

  • Gavi Board Chair Prof. José Manuel Barroso: “I’m so proud that my homeland, Portugal, is stepping up and contributing to the cause of equitable access by donating doses through COVAX. Gavi is very happy to see these first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by the Portuguese government reaching the African continent.”

  • Gavi CEO Dr Seth Berkley: “Portugal has been showing growing leadership in global health, funding routine immunisation programmes through Gavi in the 2021–2025 period. In addition to EUR 678,125 funding already provided to the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment by the Portuguese government and EUR 1.5 million from the Portuguese private sector, this dose donation shows the continued commitment of the Portuguese people to equitable access to vaccines.”

Geneva, 18 October 2021 – The first 298,700 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by Portugal to COVAX arrived in Senegal on 2 October 2021 and will be formally handed over at a ceremony that will take place today in Dakar, in the presence of H.E. the Minister of Health and Social Action of Senegal, Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, and the Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal, Francisco André.

This Portuguese donation is part of a pledge to donate at least 5% of its domestic supply to cooperation partners, under which more than 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have already been delivered bilaterally to Portuguese-Speaking Countries in Africa and Timor-Leste. In addition, EUR 678,125 in funding have been provided to the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (Gavi COVAX AMC) by the Portuguese government and EUR 1.5 million from the Portuguese private sector.

Portugal’s commitment to global vaccination has been growing in recent years, with a pledge of funding made during the Global Vaccine Summit in June 2020 by the Portuguese Minister of Health, who announced that Portugal would contribute for the first time to the Alliance financing Gavi’s core programmes in 2021-2025, with a focus on increasing the access and quality of primary healthcare and reduce child mortality.

“I’m so proud that my homeland, Portugal, is stepping up and contributing to the cause of equitable access by donating doses through COVAX,” said Gavi Board Chair Prof. José Manuel Barroso. “Gavi is very happy to see these first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by the Portuguese government reaching the African continent.”

“Portugal has been showing growing leadership in global health, funding routine immunisation programmes through Gavi in the 2021-2025 period,” stressed Gavi CEO Dr. Seth Berkley. “In addition to EUR 678,125 funding already provided to the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment by the Portuguese government and EUR 1.5 million from the Portuguese private sector, this dose donation shows the continued commitment of the Portuguese people to equitable access to vaccines.”

Donating through COVAX helps to increase vaccine coverage, ensures that no dose goes to waste, and helps to bring an end to the acute phase of the pandemic. The donation of doses via COVAX is enabled via tripartite agreements between Gavi, manufacturers, and donating countries. The shipments to countries will be enabled by COVAX delivery partners UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Over 600 million doses have already been pledged to COVAX by a number of countries in response to short-term supply challenges and the rise of new variants. Working with donor governments to operationalise growing numbers of dose-sharing pledges, COVAX expects to see more deliveries of donated doses in the weeks and months to come.

Notes to editors

About COVAX

COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator , is co-led by CEPI, Gavi and WHO – working in partnership with developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers, UNICEF, PAHO, the World Bank, and others. It is the only global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both high-income and lower-income countries.

Gavi’s role in COVAX

Gavi leads on procurement and delivery at scale for COVAX: designing and managing the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its traditional Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery. As part of this role, Gavi hosts the Office of the COVAX Facility to coordinate the operation and governance of the mechanism as a whole, holds financial and legal relationships with 193 Facility participants, and manages the COVAX Facility deals portfolio: negotiating advance purchase agreements with manufacturers of promising vaccine candidates to secure doses on behalf of all COVAX Facility participants. Gavi also coordinates design, operationalisation and fundraising for the Gavi COVAX AMC, the mechanism that provides access to donor-funded doses of vaccine to 92 lower-income economies. As part of this work, Gavi provides funding and oversight for UNICEF procurement and delivery of vaccines to all AMC participants – operationalising the advance purchase agreements between Gavi and manufacturers – as well as support for partners’ and governments work on readiness and delivery. This includes tailored support to governments, UNICEF, WHO and other partners for cold chain equipment, technical assistance, syringes, vehicles, and other aspects of the vastly complex logistical operation for delivery. Gavi also co-designed, raises funds for and supports the operationalisation of the AMC’s no-fault compensation mechanism as well as the COVAX Humanitarian Buffer.

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 888 million children – and prevented more than 15 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningitis and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation and reaching the unvaccinated children still being left behind, employing innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Gavi is a co-convener of COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, together with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization (WHO). In its role Gavi is focused on procurement and delivery for COVAX: coordinating the design, implementation and administration of the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery.

The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organizations that fund Gavi’s work here.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Evan O’Connell
+41 79 682 18 95
eoconnell@gavi.org

Iryna Mazur
+41 79 429 3671
imazur@gavi.org

Meg Sharafudeen
+41 79 711 55 54
msharafudeen@gavi.org

Laura Shevlin
+ 41 79 529 92 87
lshevlin@gavi.org

Cirũ Kariũki
+41 79 913 94 41
ckariuki@gavi.org

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