Mastercard Foundation To Donate $1.3 Bln To Vaccinate Africans

(RTTNews) - Mastercard Foundation said that it will deploy $1.3 billion over the next three years in partnership with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention or Africa CDC to save the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in Africa and hasten the economic recovery of the continent.

The Foundation stated that the Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative will acquire vaccines for at least 50 million people, support the delivery of vaccinations to millions more across the continent, lay the groundwork for vaccine manufacturing in Africa through a focus on human capital development, and strengthen the Africa CDC.

The Mastercard Foundation noted that the African Union's goal as set out in the African COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Access Strategy is to vaccinate at least 60 percent of its population - about 750 million people or the entire adult population of the continent - by the end of 2022.

To date, less than two percent of Africans have received at least one vaccine dose.