United States Donates 5.3 Million COVID-19 Pfizer Vaccine Doses to Rwanda
KIGALI (February 27, 2022) — As part of the continued U.S. commitment to improving health in Rwanda, the United States donated an additional 999,180 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as a gift from the people of the United States to the people of Rwanda. This latest amount brings the total U.S. donation of COVID-19 vaccines to Rwanda to 5,295,630 doses. Through this gift, the United States continues to partner with the Government of Rwanda to protect the health of the Rwandan people. The vaccine doses arrived at Kigali International Airport on the evening of February 24, 2022.
“The U.S. donation of more than 5 million doses, including nearly 1 million doses that arrived tonight, demonstrates the priority the United States places on ending this pandemic, and the importance of our partnership with Rwanda to improve health,” said U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Deb MacLean. “We encourage everyone to take advantage of these vaccines to protect yourself, your family, and your community.”
Since the start of the pandemic, the United States committed nearly 30 billion RWF to combat COVID-19 in Rwanda. This includes donations of vaccine doses, personal protective equipment, COVID tests, ventilators, vehicles, and handwashing stations, as well as substantial financial and technical support.
The United States pledged to donate at least 1.1 billion doses of COVID-19 doses globally by 2023. As we work together with COVAX, WHO, UNICEF, and partner countries, U.S. leadership in the fight against COVID-19 remains steady and strong — to make sure vaccines are delivered where they are needed most to end the pandemic.
United States COVID-19 Action in Rwanda
Protect, Prepare, Respond
The United States provided more than 28 billion RWF ($28M USD) to Rwanda to fight and respond to COVID-19. This 28 billion RWF in donations includes:
- More than 5 million (5,295,630) of the most effective vaccines;
- U.S. provided more than 27% of all doses administered within Rwanda;
- Supply chain experts who coordinate COVID-19 vaccine deployment;
- Medical supplies and training for 351 health facilities, 21 district hospitals, 2 referral hospitals, and 2 provincial hospitals;
- Renovation of three hospitals to create COVID-19 isolation and treatment centers;
- Equipped eight treatment centers with devices to save lives including oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders, flow meters, and patient monitors;
- 100 American-made ventilators, 6 mobile X-ray units; 96 video laryngoscopes, and 8,300 pulse oximeters. This equipment saved the lives of patients with COVID-19;
- Diagnostic testing supplies and equipment valued at more than 2.6 billion RWF and over 725,000 articles of personal protective equipment;
- Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) trained 37 experts who were deployed to support COVID-19 response through contact tracing and surveillance. FETP also trained 87 frontline responders from 20 districts to combat COVID-19.
U.S. COVID-19 support is through the following entities in Rwanda:
Rwandan Ministry of Health
UNHCR
ICAP Society for Family Health
University of Maryland
USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program – Procurement and Supply Management
FXB Rwanda
African Evangelist Enterprise
Caritas
Global Communities
Jhpiego
Society for Family Health
Alliance for Healthy Communities
Others