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Nqobile Tshili
In February this year Zimbabwe received its first Covid-19 vaccine after China donated 200 000 doses of Sinopharm which saw the country rolling out its vaccination programme.

Zimbabwe was therefore among the first African countries to roll out the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

The country, whose target is to vaccinate 10 million people to achieve herd immunity, has fully vaccinated over 2,5 million people and 3,2 million others have received their first dose.

Most developing countries have been battling to secure vaccines as the vaccines are centralised in developed countries but China has through its Ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun guaranteed the country constant supply of the vaccines.

Posting on his Twitter account in March Ambassador Shaochun said: “Despite the huge demand for vaccines at home, we are doing our best to support Zimbabwe’s fight against Covid-19 because we are all- weather friends and we keep our promise to ensure the accessibility and affordability of the vaccines, particularly for developing countries.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO)’s target was for all countries to have vaccinated at least 10 percent of their populations by end of September.

WHO however said by end of September 56 countries, mostly in Africa, had not had access to vaccines.

Zimbabwe which is reeling under illegal sanctions has managed to procure more than 12 million doses of vaccines out of its target of  20 million doses.

Political analyst and governance expert Mr Teddy Ncube said the country’s Look East Policy should be credited for the country’s vaccination success.

He said despite the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe which have seen the country getting limited international credit lines, the country has managed to meet demand for vaccines because of its good relations with China.

“There has been limited Covid-19 vaccine globally with the vaccine largely concentrated in developed countries such as China, United Kingdom and United States of America but Zimbabwe has been guaranteed constant supplies by China,” he said.

Mr Ncube said Government should also be credited for prioritising procurement of vaccines.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, President Mnangagwa has said people’s lives come first hence a lot of resources have been allocated to procurement of vaccines and measures have been put in place to minimise exposure to the virus and also to curb its spread.

Mr Ncube said apart from the local strategies, the country’s foreign policy is also contributing to ensuring that citizens are protected from the pandemic.

Health and Child Care Deputy Minister John Mangwiro said the country was getting most of its vaccines, the Sinopharm and the Sinovac from China.

Zimbabwe has budgeted at least US$100 million for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.

“The Chinese government has donated generously to us and we are most indebted,” said Dr Mangwiro.

Speaking during the delivery of a Covid-19 vaccine consignment a few months back, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Deputy Minister David Musabayana said procurement of the Covid-19 vaccines by Zimbabwe is a testament of the success of the country’s Look East Policy.

“It gives us joy as Foreign Affairs and International Trade because for us this is consummation of engagement and reengagement philosophy. And also, that His Excellency has focused on reaffirming relationships with our all-weather friends like China.

This gives us joy to trust in His Excellency’s leadership because he saw it fit to create these very important networks, as you all know at the moment demand for vaccines is outstripping supply. So the world over there is stampede to purchase these vaccines but the supply is still constrained yet we have managed to procure the vaccines,” said Deputy Minister Musabayana.

National Covid-19 Coordinator Dr Agnes Mahomva said while the country’s vaccine procurement is seemingly biased towards China, science has guided Zimbabwe’s inoculation exercise.

“The policy direction that we took is that we are going to be guided by science in the roll out of the vaccination programme.  The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe has approved all the vaccines we are using,” said Dr Mahomva. – @nqotshili