MTN donates of 380M to fight covid19
Africa’s largest mobile operator, MTN, has donated a whopping R380m to help the African Union (AU) source 7-million Covid-19 vaccines in the continent.
Earlier this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa in his capacity as AU chair made an announcement that the union had secured a provisional 270-million Covid-19 vaccine doses for its member states. This was solely possible through advance procurement commitment guarantees of up to $2bn to the manufacturers by the African Export-Import Bank.
However, with a population of about 1.3-billion, Africa needs many more doses to achieve at least 60% herd immunity, highlighting the importance of private and private sector partnerships to achieve this target, This could only mean that more private sector companies need to do as MTN to help fight this virus.
MTN on Wednesday released a statement and said the donation would help secure up to 7-million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, primarily for the continent’s health workers. This would contribute to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination efforts.
MTN’s group CEO Ralph Mupita, said: “We believe ongoing collaborations with key stakeholders across sectors are essential as vaccines are deployed in all our markets, with communication tools, technology, and digital services being vital support infrastructure for a successful mass vaccination program.”
This donation will definitely help Africa in fighting the deadly virus through vaccination.