France will donate an additional 10 million Covid-19 vaccines to African Union (AU) countries as part of its commitment to share at least 60 million by the end of the year, it was announced Monday.

In a statement quoted by Efe, the French presidency said that AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines will be delivered over the next three months as part of the African Vaccine Procurement Fund (AVAT) initiative launched by the AU and the Covax mechanism promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO), among others, to ensure global access to vaccines.

"The pandemic can only be overcome through intense cooperation between multilateral, regional and national actors," explained French President Emmanuel Macron, who said that this operation demonstrates his willingness to stand "alongside African populations" to confront the new coronavirus.

The AVAT initiative is a collective bargaining mechanism that allows AU member states to cover at least 50% of their needs, and is complemented by Covax, which is intended to cover the remaining 50%.

So, purchases have been made so that 400 million people, or one-third of Africa's population, can be vaccinated by September 2022 at a cost of 3 billion euros, with support from the World Bank.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called this latest donation "a strong and welcome gesture of human solidarity and political cooperation at a time when the world needs it most."

"A safer and healthier Africa is an essential condition for the same to happen in the world as a whole," added Ramaphosa, acting AU president.

Lusa Agency