Vodafone Foundation and Vodacom Group donate to secure COVID vaccine supply in its Africa markets

Vodafone Foundation and Vodacom Group have pledged to donate €4.2 million (R74 million) to ensure that Covid-19 vaccines are securely delivered to its markets across the continent. Procurement of the life-saving equipment will be managed through the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), established by the African Union as a component in support of the Africa Vaccine Strategy.

Last week AVATT signed a procurement agreement on behalf of African Union member states for 220 million Johnson and Johnson single dose vaccines manufactured in South Africa. There is an option for an additional 180 million doses. Africa is also acquiring 700 million vaccines from the World Health Organization initiative known as COVAX. The continent intends to roll out enough vaccines for 760 million people before the end of next year.

The donations from Vodafone Foundation and Vodacom Group will be used to buy equipment to maintain the cold-chain needed for the vaccines to stay at optimal sub-zero temperatures in order to remain viable, and assist with the logistics support around the distribution of the vaccines.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, African Union COVID-19 Champion, said: “Greater collaboration between government, business, labour and civil society is key to the success of the vaccine rollout. We commend the Vodacom Group and Vodafone Foundation. I want to call on all our private sector partners to support this new phase in our fight against the pandemic.”

Nick Read, CEO, Vodafone Group, said: “By supporting Africa’s vaccine roll-out we help to protect some of the most vulnerable communities in the countries we serve. Vodafone also encourages our employees globally to support the vaccine delivery appeals by GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF to help safeguard health workers and the most high-risk people on our planet.”

African Union Special Envoy on Vaccine Acquisitions, Strive Masiyiwa expressed his deep appreciation for the intervention, saying: “This is a smart, and strategic donation which will have a far reaching impact, even beyond this pandemic. The African Union initiative is also supported by UNICEF which helped to specify the equipment and will also help countries to acquire the right equipment.”

Shameel Joosub, CEO of Vodacom Group, said: “Targeted donations from Vodafone Foundation and Vodacom Group will help nations to address the complexity of maintaining a cold-chain and the logistics around the distribution so that the lifesaving Covid-19 vaccines remain viable. We are proud to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the African Union and national governments to provide practical support for what is an enormous logistical challenge for resource-limited African countries with significant rural populations.”

Separately, Vodafone Foundation and Vodacom have donated €0.8 million (R13 million) in support of the Lesotho government’s call for companies operating in the Kingdom to assist with its vaccination programme. The funds will be used to purchase vaccines. The contribution will target Phase Three of the country’s vaccination plan. That includes much of Lesotho’s public and private workforce.

Andrew Dunnett, Director, Vodafone Foundation, said: “We know how important it is for Africa – and ultimately the rest of the world – that the most significant health intervention in the continent’s history is completed successfully. This donation builds upon the €10m (R176m) in grants and in kind contributions that Vodafone and Vodacom Group Foundations have already made in response to the pandemic.”

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Vodafone Group

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About Vodafone Foundation

Vodafone Foundation’s strategy of ‘Connecting for Good’ combines Vodafone’s charitable giving and technology to address some of the world’s most pressing problems. Established in 1991, Vodafone Foundation is at the centre of a network of global and local social investment programmes. Vodafone Foundation is an independent UK registered charity, registered charity number 1089625.
For more information, visit: www.vodafonefoundation.org

About Vodacom

Vodacom is a leading African communications company providing a wide range of communication services, including data, mobile and fixed voice, messaging, financial services, enterprise IT and converged services to 120 million customers (including Safaricom). From our roots in South Africa, we have grown our mobile network business to include operations in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC), Mozambique, Lesotho and Kenya. Our mobile networks cover a population of over 296 million people. Through Vodacom Business Africa (VBA), we offer business managed services to enterprises in 29 countries. Vodacom is majority owned by Vodafone (60.5% holding), one of the world’s largest communications companies by revenue.