Telecommunications giant MTN has announced a donation of USD25 million to support the African Union’s Covid-19 vaccination programme.

In a statement on Wednesday, the group said the donation would help secure up to seven million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for health workers across the continent, which would in turn contribute to the vaccination initiative of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

“The devastating impact of Covid-19 has been unprecedented and profound. Public and private partnerships are needed if we are to succeed in the fight against the pandemic and restore social and economic norms for our continent and our communities,” said the president and CEO of MTN Group, Ralph Mupita.

On January 14, African Union Chairperson and President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the African Union had secured a provisional 270 million Covid-19 vaccine doses on behalf of its member states through advance procurement commitment guarantees of up to US$2 billion to the manufacturers by the African Export-Import Bank.

“Our goal is to ensure that all those who need the Covid-19 vaccine have access to it very quickly, but the biggest hurdle in Africa has been financing of the vaccines, and the logistics of vaccinating at scale. We therefore welcome the right partnerships, like the one with MTN, to achieve our minimum 60% vaccination target,” said the director of Africa CDC, Dr John Nkengasong.

Since the break out of the pandemic, MTN has made significant contributions both monetarily, and logistically to support the fight against the covid19 pandemic.

Aside from the contributions, MTN Group in 2019 held a global campaign dubbed #WearItForMe where they encouraged everyone in the country to wear their masks and stop the spread of Covid19.

This partnership is another example of MTN’s efforts to help find lasting solution to help solve the challenges facing the continent and guarantee a healthy Africa.