N’Djamena International Airport
October 2, 2021
Today, I am happy to announce that the U.S. Embassy, in partnership with The National Coordination for a COVID-19 Response in the Chad Ministry of Health welcomed the arrival of 117,000 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines here at the N’Djamena International Airport.
The U.S. government donated the vaccines. This delivery is part of the U.S. government’s and the African Union’s efforts to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX network globally. These vaccines will be made available to the government of the Republic of Chad for use by the Chadian people.
The 117,000 donated vaccines are part of the U.S. commitment to initially provide at least 25 million doses to Africa. Close collaboration with the African Union on behalf of its member states helped facilitate this pledge. The hard work and coordination of UNICEF and the World Health Organization through the COVAX vaccine network made the delivery of millions of vaccines possible.
Part of a global effort by the U.S. to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. pledge to provide doses to Africa, we will continue working together with the Chadian Ministry of Health, the private sector, and civil society to do everything we can to mitigate the pandemic’s effect on lives and livelihoods.
This donation will help protect the Chadian people from the ravages of the COVID-19 virus. The United States is proud to be the largest donor to the COVAX global COVID-19 initiative, and we are honored to work with our partners at the African Union, UNICEF and the World Health Organization to make this ambitious goal a reality for hundreds of thousands of Chadian citizens.
The vaccines have been delivered to the Ministry of Health. Chadian public health officials will provide information on their use. I urge each of you to get vaccinated at the earliest opportunity and to remain vigilant. Let’s protect ourselves, each other, and the most vulnerable among us.