SENEGAL – The Senegalese Government has secured US$3.9 million in healthcare funding from the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) that will enable United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support the Government in the implementation of its vaccination strategy against COVID-19.
Senegal will use the funding from Germany to implement its new strategy orientations that revolve around the strengthening of the routine immunization services as well as the intensification of communication and community engagement for demand generation.
Part of the Germany’s investment will be used to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination efforts in Senegal particularly the vaccination of the most vulnerable people, accelerated response in case of alerts as well as scaling up COVID-19 vaccine demand strategies.
The financing will also support the generation of demand for vaccination against Covid-19 and other antigens through the engagement of traditional and religious leaders, community volunteer mobilizers, media and young people.
To date, Senegal has recorded 88,082 positive cases of Covid-19, including 85,958 recovered patients, 1,968 deaths and 155 patients on treatment. Since the start of the vaccination campaign, 1,521,391 people have received at least their first dose of vaccine.
In addition, the Senegalese Government will use the funding to strengthen the health system particularly to strengthen national capacities for the appropriate storage of vaccines and consumables at the central and operational levels by upgrading regional vaccination depots.
The financing will also be used to strengthen material and logistical capacities for the implementation of vaccination activities against COVID-19 and routine immunization in a bid to support country-led efforts to fully vaccinate 90% of the most at-risk populations in Africa over the next two years.
Through the recent funding support, UNICEF will support the Senegalese government to improve the secure management of medical waste with modern incinerators complying with environmental standards.
“Improving knowledge of Senegalese people on the life-saving effect of vaccination and saving the lives of adults and children are at the heart of our cooperation with UNICEF and the Senegalese government” said Theodor Proffe, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.
At the same time, UNICEF Representative in Senegal Silvia Danailov disclosed that the contribution comes at a strategic moment as Senegal is currently doubling its efforts to increase vaccination coverage.
“Progress has been made but we need to maintain momentum through an effective and efficient vaccination roll-out to ensure that as many people as possible are protected from the virus” outlined Silvia Danailov.
She explained that the COVID-19 response can be a catalyst for addressing long-standing barriers for children including realizing their right to health, accelerating progress towards achieving the targets of increased immunization coverage and ultimately ending preventable child deaths.
The UNICEF Representative in Senegal further said that ensuring investments in the response to COVID-19 are also investments in stronger health systems, both for now and for the future, is a vital step in the right direction.
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