“We will continue to fight together against the coronavirus pandemic. I am proud to announce today that we will donate an additional 17 million Johnson and Johnson vaccines to the African Union as a one-time historic donation and will send more to Kenya by the end of it,” Biden said.
A senior administration official reported that the vaccines will be delivered to the African Union in the coming weeks, in addition to 50 million doses previously donated by the United States to an organization that recognizes 55 African countries as members. Of the 50 million doses of vaccine that the United States previously sent to the African Union, 2.8 million went to Kenya. The official added that the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is very popular in Africa, mainly due to flexible storage and transportation options, and the demand for it is huge.
“I am committed to strengthening our relations with Kenya. We will also talk about economic transparency, accelerating economic growth and combating climate change,” Biden added before the meeting.
Kenyan President Biden thanked Kenya for helping other African countries get vaccines. “We would very much welcome more help from the international community,” added Kenyatta, the first African leader he received in the Biden White House. “We have a close partnership with the United States, especially in the fight against global terrorism,” the African leader said.
Official figures indicate that Africa lags behind much of the world in terms of the number of people vaccinated. Only nine African countries have achieved the World Health Organization’s goal of vaccinating at least 10 percent of the population by the end of September.
Cover Photo: Getty Images
