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The Malian government plans to buy over 8.4 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, the country’s council of ministers has said.
The council said it expects to roll out a vaccination campaign in April.
The vaccine is expected to cost Mali – which has a population of about 18.5 million and has so far recorded 7,911 Covid-19 cases and over 320 deaths – $58m.
The government remarks that the cost would be covered with financial assistance from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) and the World Bank.
GAVI and WHO co-run the COVAX scheme which helps developing countries to secure fair access to COVID-19 vaccines.
It did not specify which vaccines it planned to buy.
Mali like other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa is battling a second wave of coronavirus infections, although its infection rate has decreased from a peak in early January.
