UK Donates 500,000 Doses of COVID -19 Vaccines to Uganda

Kampala, Uganda: February 2022: On 27 February, the UK delivered a further 500,000 Oxford-Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses to Uganda.

This is the first tranche of the 1 million vaccines pledged during the UK Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford’s visit to Uganda in January 2022.

The donation will support Uganda’s vaccination programme and ensure Ugandans are able to obtain their second dose of the Oxford-Astra Zeneca vaccine in order to become fully vaccinated.

The donations come on the back of 299,520 doses that the UK donated through COVAX. The UK is among the largest donors to COVAX’s Advance Market Commitment, which has now delivered over 1 billion doses worldwide, including to Uganda during the first and second waves of the virus.

The UK will continue to support the COVID-19 response in Uganda and other countries. We have pledged to donate 100m doses globally and have committed up to £1.4 billion to help end the pandemic and address its impacts. We continue to advocate globally for fairer distribution of vaccines, helping us all reduce the COVID-19 risk.

British High Commissioner to Uganda, H.E. Kate Airey OBE said:

“I’m delighted that the UK has delivered on its promise to continue to support Uganda in its COVID-19 response. Vaccines are the way out of this pandemic for us all. They have already saved thousands of lives, and are the best way to protect people from COVID-19 longer term. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for Ugandans to get fully vaccinated as soon as possible, to keep themselves and their loved ones safe and to support Uganda on the road to recovery”.

The UK has been at the forefront of the global response to COVID-19, including through investing £90 million to support the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Over half a billion doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine have been delivered at a non-profit price globally, with two-thirds going to lower and middle-income countries.