China will donate 200,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Guinea, according to Foreign Minister Ibrahima Khalil Kaba of the West African nation.
In a meeting on Tuesday, China’s ambassador in Conakry confirmed the donation, Kaba said. He did not say when the doses would arrive or which Chinese-developed vaccine would be donated.
Although vaccination programs in many wealthy countries are well underway, restricted early access to vaccines produced by Western drugmakers means that inoculation drives have yet to be initiated in most African countries.
China and Russia’s so-called vaccine diplomacy is fostering trust in parts of the world after pharmaceutical firms, including Pfizer Inc, based in the United States, reported flaws in delivery plans.
China said on Monday that it was offering vaccine assistance to 13 countries worldwide and intended to support another 38.
Guinea approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for domestic use in January, becoming the second African nation to do so. Most others are waiting for COVAX disbursements, a global scheme co-led by the World Health Organization for lower-income countries, claims Reuters Africa.
