AU | COVID-19 | VACCINATION 

In a bid to increase COVID-19 uptake on the continent, the African Union (AU), together with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Africa have launched an initiative to scale up the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines on the continent. 

"Under the AU Bingwa Initiative, the AU and CDC Africa have recruited 100 youth throughout Africa, who will encourage people to get vaccinated in 51 countries across the continent," Dr Chrys Promesse Kaniki, a senior technical officer for strategic programme at Africa CDC, said 

Kaniki said the Bingwa Initiative is a one-year initiative that is expected to equip vaccinated youth champion across Africa with technical skills to reach, mobilise and engage their communities and peers to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“The status of COVID-19 vaccination in Africa is struggling compared to other continents. In Africa, 364 million people have been vaccinated. This loosely translates to just 26.1% of the total population as of November 22, 2022," he said. 

He made the remarks in Dar es Salaam-Tanzania on December 2, 2022, during the training for the youth selected under the initiative from eastern Africa. 

So far, 100 youth from 51 countries across Africa have gone through the first training that took place between November 25 and December 2. The youth were equipped with information on topics, such as community engagement, effective communication, behavioural change and COVID-19 vaccination. 

Doreen Naiga, one of the selected youth from Uganda, said: “As Bingwas, our role shall be to advocate for vaccination against COVID-19 in our communities.” 

Gabrielle Chams, a youth from Tanzania, who was part of the team, said she got vaccinated after losing a family member to COVID-19 

"Even though we didn't have a lockdown in Tanzania, COVID-19 did have a terrible effect on me and my family. I lost a family member and this is what led me to get vaccinated and encourage others to do the same," she said. 

The initiative follows concern among public health specialists that the continent was letting down its guard against COVID-19 as evidenced by the low uptake of booster vaccines and low levels of vigilance as far as COVID-19 prevention. 

Kaniki said the goal is to reach at least 70% of the target population of about 900 million. It targets getting 100% of health workers vaccinated; 100% of those with co-morbidities; and at least 70% of the target population. 

“Selected Bingwas will be supported by experienced experts in key public health and community engagement fields from AU, Africa CDC and partner organisations to enhance their skills in the following areas among others: Understanding Africa CDC and the New Public Health Order for Africa; Understanding COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination; risk communication; community engagement and influencing for COVID 19 vaccination; social media engagement and mobilisation for impact; social behaviour change communication and; Planning, monitoring, evaluation and Reporting,” he added in a statement. 

COVID-19 statistics

Although COVID-19 deaths have reduced, health experts still encourage people to get fully vaccinated as the best form of protection. 

Currently, COVID-19 deaths in Africa stand at about 257,000. South Africa had over 100,000 deaths and accounted for 40% of the total. Tunisia was the second with 30,000 and thirdly, Egypt with 24,600. 

Uganda has recorded 3,630 COVID-19 deaths since March 2020, when the disease was first announced. The country has received 32,064,025 doses of vaccines and 12,765,601 Ugandans out of a population of about 45 million have been fully vaccinated. 

The number of Ugandans who received at least one dose is 8,867,075 (46.8%) while only 431,349 (1.1%) have received booster doses. On Friday, President Yoweri Museveni urged Ugandans to take caution against COVID-19 and announced that vaccination certificates would be a requirement when accessing public places.