Vodacom partners AU in major vaccination rollout
by MTHULISI SIBANDA
JOHANNESBURG – THE Vodacom Group has partnered with the development agency of the African Union (AUDA-NEPAD) to accelerate the vaccine roll-out on the continent.
The partnership is to build digital infrastructure to manage vaccinations across up to 55 countries, following successful deployments in South Africa – to manage COVID-19 vaccinations – and in Mozambique, Tanzania and Nigeria – to manage infant inoculations.
This roll-out of mVacciNation, developed by Mezzanine, a member of the Vodacom Group, is the first project in a public-private partnership between Vodacom and AUDA-NEPAD.
It is to boost Africa’s digital transformation and build resilience for the post-COVID world.
Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group Chief Executive Officer, said making mVacciNation platform available to all African countries would significantly enhance the continent’s digital health infrastructure for the long-term.
“Our contribution will improve the capability of African countries in this pandemic and beyond for vaccine distribution, management and surveillance, even in resource-constrained settings,” he said.
At the end of March, the Vodacom Group and Vodafone Foundation pledged R87 million (US$5,83 million) in support of CIOVID-19 vaccination drives in African countries in which they operate.
As of the beginning of this week, there 136 742 405 cases of COVID-19 globally, including 2 951 427 deaths.
Africa has 4 387 161 cases and 116 016 deaths.
Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, said Africa’s booming digital sector offered great opportunities for public-private partnerships to help build resilience in the aftermath of the crisis and respond to critical continental priorities.
“As the development agency for the AU, we act as a channel to connect innovators and governments to roll-out and localise these solutions,” he explained.
mVacciNation has two core components and a control tower, to ensure people get the right vaccine, at the right place and time.
A supply chain component provides real-time information for health workers of all available vaccines and medical equipment nationally.
A beneficiary management component allows individuals to register on the platform and assigns them to vaccine service points on a specific day and time.
Once installed, the mVacciNation platform will remain in place to help countries better manage future pandemics and other large-scale health programmes such as infant inoculations.
– CAJ News
