For immediate release
April 14, 2021
The United States congratulates Niger on the successful arrival of 355,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, April 14. This shipment was made possible through the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, a global initiative to support equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. The United States recently announced an initial $2 billion obligation—out of a total planned $4 billion— to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to support the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, making the United Sates the single largest contributor to global COVID-19 vaccine access.
As U.S. Ambassador Whitaker noted during his remarks at the arrival ceremony, “Supporting Niger’s response to COVID-19 through the COVAX facility continues our long-standing public health cooperation and partnership with Niger. Defeating the pandemic is a global challenge and the United States is working both at home and abroad to stop the spread of the disease. Working together, we can defeat COVID-19 and prepare ourselves for future threats.”
The U.S. contributions to COVAX, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will support the purchase and delivery of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for the world’s most vulnerable and at-risk populations in 92 low- and middle-income countries. This support is critical to controlling the pandemic, slowing the emergence of new variants, and helping to restart the global economy.
The United States will also work with other donors to make further pledges and commitments to meet the COVAX Facility’s critical needs. The United States is committed to collaborating with partners and governments to support global COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
The United States has worked closely with the people and government of Niger throughout the duration of the pandemic to protect public health and strengthen the response to COVID-19. Building on longstanding development and humanitarian programs, these resources have helped Niger with risk communications, community engagement, and infection prevention needed to help control the pandemic and save lives. And we will continue to partner with Niger to ensure the COVID vaccination campaigns are successful.
