Discussions were held with officials from all levels of the Ministry of Health, Gavi, UNICEF and the World Health Organization on the availability and coverage of Covid-19 vaccine.
State Minister of Health, Dr. Dereje Duguma, thanked the partners for their dedicated support in providing access to vaccination services over the past several years and said that stakeholders have been instrumental in responding to the prevention and control of the covid pandemic.
According to the State minister, besides the political commitment of the government, the involvement of the partner organizations have been crucial for the increase of the national vaccine coverage from 4% to the current above 20% and the building of a resilient health system. He also said that this should be strengthened and continued in the future. Dr. Dereje Duguma added that work is underway to adequately coordinate and integrate covid-19 vaccination with routine health services in order to make it accessible to users of the health facilities.
Mr. Ted Chaiban, Global Lead Coordinator for COVID-19 Vaccine Country-Readiness and Delivery, expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Health for the excelling record on the increase of national vaccine coverage and access to vaccination.
He also said that in order to achieve the goal set by the country, it is important to focus on access to vaccines for the elderly, the community in need of special attention and for those displaced for various reasons.
During the meeting, it was stated that coordinated and strengthened work should be done for those affected by drought and conflict as well as citizens in inaccessible areas by allocating the necessary budget.