Japan Donates COVID-19 AstraZeneca Vaccines to Egypt via COVAX

The Government of Japan has announced it will provide AstraZeneca vaccines to Egypt.

This was decided in light of the friendship between Japan and Egypt and based on the current status of COVID-19 in Egypt. This will be the first provision of vaccines from Japan to the African continent. The vaccines produced in Japan will be shipped to Egypt as soon as the logistics arrangement by the COVAX facility is completed.

The current pandemic is a “human security” crisis, posing threats to inpiduals’ survival, livelihood and dignity, and the global community must work together so that no one is left behind in the fight against the pandemic.

In this context, Japan has supported Egypt’s efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic by extending more than 250 million USD for the provision of Japanese-made medical equipment for the wide population, including women and children, improvement of the cold chain, support to new research at Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), and budgetary support for the mitigation of economic impacts caused by the pandemic. Japan also cooperates with COVAX, a global framework for vaccination, with a contribution of 1 billion USD, which represents more than 10 % of its total budget as of June 2021.

The Government of Japan hopes that this donation will support the Egyptian government's efforts to defeat COVID-19.