UK To Offer Kenya More Than 800,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Doses - Government

UK to Offer Kenya More Than 800,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Doses - Government

LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th July, 2021) The UK will offer 817,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Kenya as part of its global commitment to share 100 million doses internationally by June next year, the UK government announced on Wednesday ahead of a meeting between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta.

According to the official statement, the first 400,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will be delivered this week.

The vaccine donation to Kenya is part of a delivery of 9 million Oxford/AstraZeneca doses the UK government will be making through the international COVAX shot-sharing mechanism and directly to individual countries.

The official statement said this will be the "first tranche" of the commitment made by the UK at the G7 Summit in June to share 100 million vaccine doses internationally by June, 2022.

Johnson is expected to welcome president Kenyatta later today at his official Chequers country residence, a day before the two leaders host the Global education Summit in London on Thursday.

"As friends and allies, we are sharing UK vaccine doses to support Kenya's fight against the pandemic. From boosting economic growth to addressing climate change and getting girls into school, the UK and Kenya are working hand-in-hand to deliver a more secure and prosperous world," Johnson was quoted as saying ahead of his meeting with Kenyatta.

The government said that the two leaders will hold talks on issues including trade, defense, development and the global fight against COVID-19.

In a separate statement, the UK Ministry of Defense announced that London and Nairobi had signed on Tuesday a new cooperation agreement to tackle shared threat from Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group linked to al-Qaeda terrorist movement (banned in Russia).