The COVID-19 pandemic has affected communities across the globe, including remote communities in Africa.
With vaccines becoming available, the EU is making sure that they reach the most remote villages, including those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
We are supporting our humanitarian partner Malteser International, which has been working in the area for more than a decade. Malteser International assists local health systems for the rollout of Covid-19 vaccination.
Its community-based strategies have been crucial in improving people’s confidence in local health systems. This approach, together with flexible logistical and financial support, prove again to be successful for the COVID-19 vaccination campaign – which has been very challenging in the country.
This experience shows that even is some of the most remote parts of crisis-affected districts, structural and emergency work can be of mutual benefit.
The project is part of the EU’s humanitarian initiative of allocating €100 million in support of the rollout of covid-19 vaccination in Africa. The initiative was announced last year by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in cooperation with the Africa Centres for Disease Control (AfCDC).
Story by EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
Malteser International uses this Isolation centre at Aru General Referral Hospital, in Ituri, DRC, to provide COVID-19 vaccines. The NGO hopes to ensure access to vaccines to over 630,000 people in the eastern DRC. In the village of Ingbokol, healthcare workers administering COVID-19 vaccines are provided with personal protective equipment to protect themselves and those receiving the vaccine. Medical staff now have the needles and cold storage equipment to administer the vaccines safely but also the equipment to dispose of the used medical items. Local staff working for NGOs in remote areas can also receive their shots. Malteser International is benefitting from the experience of battling the Ebola outbreaks in these remote communities. Dr. Jean Paul Uvoyo, Medical Coordinator of Malteser International, said: “Our work against Ebola has helped us develop a functioning system and given us experience to fight this COVID-19 outbreak.”