Netherlands donates over 300,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to PNG

The National Health Watch

THE Netherlands government has donated more than 300,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine to the country in Port Moresby last month, according to United Nation International Children’s Fund (Unicef).
A team from Papua New Guinea Covid-19 vaccination ministerial task force, European Union representing the Netherlands, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef witnessed the arrival of 302,400 doses of the J&J vaccines which would be distributed in the country in the coming weeks to support the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive and to ensure vaccines are available to everyone.
Unicef facilitated the procurement of these vaccines through Covax, a global partnership designed to make sure that safe and effective vaccines were available to as many people as quickly as possible.
Covax was co-led by the coalition for epidemic preparedness innovations (Cepi), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the WHO-working in partnership with Unicef as well as civil society organisations, vaccine manufacturers and others.
The country has received the following Covid-19 vaccines since April:

  • AstraZeneca doses donated by Australian and New Zealand governments;
  • Johnson & Johnson doses donated by the US Government; and,
  • Sinopharm doses donated by the government of China.

To date, the Unicef has supported the distribution of more than 350,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, 287,000 doses of J&J vaccine and 46,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines across the country.
Meanwhile, through the support provided by Gavi, Unicef continues to support the rehabilitation of the cold chain system in hospitals.