China Donates an Additional 200,000 Covid-19 Vaccine Doses to the Republic of Congo

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The Government of the Republic of Congo has taken receipt of an additional 200,000 Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine doses, developed by Chinese healthcare group, the China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (Sinopharm). The initiative is part of China’s official strategy to build Sino-African relations, through vaccine diplomacy. The donation was received by Jean-Ignace Tendelet, Chief of Staff at the Congolese Ministry of Health; Max Henri Monka, Chief of Staff at the Congolese Ministry of International Cooperation; in collaboration with H.E. Ma Fulin, Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Congo.

“What we are receiving this evening at Maya-Maya airport are 200,000 doses of vaccine from Sinopharm, of a batch envisaged at one million in total for the Republic of Congo, which is China’s privileged partner,” confirmed Ambassador Fulin.

Thanking the Chinese Government for its donations, Tendelet acknowledged that, “Vaccines are available (and) the population must continue to mobilize for vaccination so that collective immunity is achieved,” This is in line with key economic research results suggesting that higher vaccination rates, stimulates economic activity.

Monka echoed this sentiment, stating that Chinese vaccines are both safe and effective and have been validated by the World Health Organization (WHO), urging the people of the Republic of the Congo to receive their doses to enable the country to reopen and expediate post-pandemic economic recovery. Serving as a critical component to global economic recovery, vaccination rollouts are imperative to attracting investors back to low-income countries, facilitating large-scale gatherings, and mitigating the economic, social, and health consequences of the virus in the years ahead.

With unprecedented disruptions to the African continent caused by the pandemic, prospects for economic recovery in Africa are progressing steadily due to the global roll-out of such Covid-19 vaccines. Industry specialists have flagged that slowing the spread of the virus will serve to strengthen African economies by creating more jobs, attracting investment, and enhancing competitiveness.

Developing Congo’s Economy

African economic development, in a post-Covid-19 landscape, will be centered around the principle of resilience and focused on accelerating transformation to realize sustained economic gains, serving to develop strengthened adaptation measures to allow faster recovery to mitigate against possible future economic shifts caused by the pandemic.

The roll-out of vaccines to the Republic of Congo by China is expected to improve economic recovery for the Central African country, facilitating an environment whereby investors will be able to advance beyond the pandemic to diversify investment targets in the medium- to long-term.

The scaling back of the Congo Government-implemented Covid-19 protocols and restrictions will allow the country to reassert its oil, gas, and power industries through an influx of foreign direct investment, facilitated by in-person conferences and events.

While global investors return to Africa, the continent is undertaking an ambitious drive to harness and monetize its natural gas resources, with gas-rich countries like the Republic of Congo set to become a major regional gas exporter and player.

The Congo International Energy Summit and Exhibition 2022 – taking place on June 15-17 –  will be the first international energy event of its kind held in the country, introducing investors to a post-Covid-19 landscape within one of Africa’s most mature markets while opening broader discussions on the role international players will have in facilitating investment. The event will showcase partnership and investment opportunities in hydrocarbon exploration, gas monetization, green energy, and downstream industries, presenting the Republic of Congo as a key investment destination across the oil, gas, and power sectors.

The donation of vaccines to the Republic of Congo constitutes part of nine programs announced by China intended to strengthen cooperation between the two countries through the development of medicine and health, agriculture, trade, investment, technology, green energy, capacity-building, and reduction in poverty.

The Republic of Congo started its national vaccination program in March 2021, having administered at least 758,891 doses thus far, immunizing approximately 7.1% of the country’s population. Three vaccines have currently been approved for use by the Congolese Government namely, the Sputnik V, Janssen, and Sinopharm vaccines, with the Sinopharm vaccine having been issued an interim recommendation for use by the WHO’s Advisory Group of Experts.

The first country to donate vaccine doses to the Central African country was China, which has also offered assistance through vaccine distribution and the provision of other medical supplies since the outbreak of the pandemic.