Between 10 and 14 October 2022, Mr Ted Chaiban, Global Lead Coordinator for the COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery Partnership (CoVDP) and his team visited Mali in West Africa- one of nine countries with less than 10% COVID-19 vaccination coverage. A member of WHO IST West Africa also supported this advocacy visit.
The mission visited a health facility and the cold store of the EPI in Bamako. During the visit, discussions were held between the mission and the Prime Minister ad interim, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the Malian Red Cross, the UN Country Team and Humanitarian Country Team, MINUSMA, bilateral cooperation agencies, the Health Cluster, civil society organizations as well as religious and traditional leaders.
Recommendations made over the course of the mission include the conduct of a series of mass COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, with targets set to have one at least one by Mid-November 2022 –executed within the “Month of Health” context – and another one in January 2023. It was also suggested that coordination is strengthened between the government, financial and technical partners, and members of the Health Cluster. The MoH updated the 3rd window of Gavi financial support to countries for COVID19 (CDS III) application to include funding for technical assistance and operational costs for vaccine delivery via NGO and CSO partners.
To further help Mali reach improve its COVID-19 response, CoVDP supported the development of a consolidated budget called “One Budget” for COVID-19 activities in the country, which considers the planned expenditures and available funding.
Author: Hilaire DADJO (WHO AFRO)
Minister of Health posing with Mr Ted Chaiban. Credit: H. Dadjo/WHO AFRO
Mr Ted Chaiban with the Director of Multilateral Cooperation at the Minitry of Foreign Affairs. Credit: H. Dadjo/WHO AFRO