Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (January 14, 2022) – The end of December marked the opening of the new high-volume vaccine site (HVS) located at Yopougon, a suburb of Abidjan, at the BAE Sports Complex. In order to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines get to adults – on time and at their point of need – VillageReach will support the government of Côte d’Ivoire to manage the campaign that can provide up to 1,000 vaccines a day.
Pierre N’gou Dimba, the Cote D’Ivoire Minister of Health, attended the opening of the HVS that took place on December 29, 2021. The ceremony concurrently served as the launch of a campaign to activate additional supporting vaccination partners. Other city officials attended the event, such as the Mayor of Abidjan, WHO representative in Cote d’Ivoire, MSF representative in Cote d’Ivoire, EPI head, and the Director of the National Institute of Public Hygiene.
Dr Raymond Ankeman, Director of District of Yopougon Est. said, “We are delighted to collaborate with VillageReach as we increase the number of people that can get vaccines in Abidjan. This partnership is built on the robust technical assistance that has been integrated in the overall operational approach. The government and country partners have been able to incorporate effective cold chain management, equity, workforce mobilization to its overall COVID-19 vaccine deployment. Through our joint efforts, we will deliver safe and reliable vaccines to people, which in turn boosts overall public confidence, and will lead to a higher uptake.”
There will be a steering committee solely dedicated towards leading the HVS. This will foster greater country ownership, enable proven expertise and tailored support to guide the continued management of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in Abidjan. Additionally, the on-the-ground insights will be useful in effectively tackling challenges as they emerge.
“The rollout of the high-volume vaccine site is a step in the right direction. Amid this life-altering global pandemic, there are still several communities in Abidjan that are yet to receive COVID-19 vaccine doses. VillageReach’s complementary efforts to get vaccines to people that may be at-risk of getting the virus is not only much needed, but urgent. In order to achieve the Ministry of Health’s overall vaccination target, we are also being mindful of increasing the demand for these vaccines by selecting BAE Sports Complex, a location that is easily accessible, and by launching VaccineCheck, a messaging platform to create more awareness,” said Yvan Agbassi, Cote d’Ivoire Country Lead.
The HVS will play a significant role in ensuring that five-million people in Côte d’Ivoire are vaccinated by early 2022.
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About VillageReach
VillageReach transforms health care delivery to reach everyone, so that each person has the health care needed to thrive. We develop solutions that improve equity and access to primary health care. This includes making sure products are available when and where they are needed and primary health care services are delivered to the most under-reached. Radical collaboration with governments, the private sector and other partners strengthen our ability to scale and sustain these solutions. Our work increases access to quality health care for 46 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.
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