Africa CDC Saving Lives and Livelihoods Initiative Expands Implementation in Southern Africa
November 16, 2022
AU targets youth to accelerate Covid-19 vaccination uptake
December 3, 2022
Trace Foundation on Thursday, November 24 hosted a media engagement in Kenya as part of efforts to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination in Africa.
The engagement was launched with support from the German Cooperation project on Strengthening Crisis and Pandemic Response in Africa and implemented by German Development Cooperation (GIZ) Office to the African Union (AU).
This was to kickstart its AU Bingwa Initiative activation in various parts of the country. This effort is a contribution to the AU COVID-19 Bingwa Initiative.
In April 2022, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission officially launched the AU Bingwa Initiative as part of the Africa CDC’s Programme of Saving Lives and Livelihoods. Bingwa is the Swahili word for “Champion”.
The initiative seeks to establish a network of COVID-19 vaccination youth champions across the continent to accelerate the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination in Africa to achieve a 70 per cent vaccination rate on the continent.
The initiative has already been launched across several member states of the African Union including Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda, and Nigeria.
African youths constitute over 60 per cent of the continent’s population, and their mobilization and meaningful engagement have the potential to be game-changing in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic on the continent. In realisation of the transformative role of young people towards achieving the 70% vaccination target on the continent.
