Prime
Govt names team to advise on Covid-19 vaccine access
What you need to know:
- The team will engage a wide range of stakeholders and partners, including collaboration with non-state actors, and others to support on deployment of the Covid-19 vaccine.
- Government said early last month that it was exploring several options of the available vaccines with $405m (Shs1.5 trillion) as the working budget for the vaccines.
Government has constituted a 10-member committee to advise and support the national taskforce on Covid-19 on deployment and access of Covid-19 vaccine.
The committee is chaired by Prof David Sserwadda, an expert in infectious diseases; Prof William Bazeyo to advise on alternative resource mobilisation; Prof Pontiano Kaleebu and Prof Nelson Sewankambo, who will handle global scientific perspective; and Dr Rhoda Wanyenze, who will advise on public health national perspective.
Others include, the outgoing Vision Group chief executive, Mr Robert Kabushenga, to advise on the private sector perspective, Mr Patrick Bitature, who will advise on private sector financing, Lt Col Henry Bosa as the committee secretary, Mr Oscar Kihika as the legal advisor while Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the UN Adonia Ayebare was tapped to offer global perspective on the matter.
World Bank, World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and Centre for Disease Control (CDC) country bosses respectively were named to the committee as ex-officios.
In a January 22 letter to Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, Health minister Jane Ruth Aceng said the ‘high level and multi-skilled team’ would engage a wide range of stakeholders and partners, including collaboration with non-state actors, and others to support on deployment of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“This would provide a means of adjudicating emerging data on the vaccines, as well as information on a number of contextual issues, in a matter that ensures policy coherence between public health, trade, and intellectual property, prioritisation, and fair allocation mechanism. This includes integration of the recommendation form the National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group,” Ms Aceng wrote.
She said Uganda is part of the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX), a global initiative that brings together governments, manufacturers, and global health organisations, to push for deployment of a vaccine to some 90 low and middle income countries.
The aim is to have at least two billion doses available by end of this year.
The COVAX initiative founded by WHO, the French government, and the European Union Commission, is co-led by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
Prof Sserwadda and Ms Aceng were not readily available for additional comment.
Government said early last month that it was exploring several options of the available vaccines with $405m (Shs1.5 trillion) as the working budget for the vaccines.
