Africa CDC and the Mastercard Foundation have commenced a new phase of their Saving Lives and Livelihoods (SLL) initiative.

Development Diaries reports that the SLL initiative was launched after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared an end to Covid-19 pandemic as a public health emergency of international concern.

Launched in 2021, the $1.5 billion livelihood project aims to purchase Covid-19 vaccines, roll out vaccinations, build the vaccine manufacturing workforce for the continent, and strengthen the Africa CDC to ensure long-term health security for Africa.

It is understood that the partnership has already contributed to the continent’s current vaccination rate of 53 percent of the target population, up from three percent at the start of the initiative.

The partnership has also trained, equipped, and deployed 38,000 health workers, creating a robust frontline for safeguarding public health locally.

‘It has provided job opportunities for 23,000 individuals and integrated over 600 Covid-19 vaccination centres into health care systems’, a statement from Africa CDC read.

‘Additionally, this initiative led to the expansion of genomic testing capabilities from seven to 40 laboratories across the continent’.

In its second phase, the partnership is expected to expand its scope and scale, focusing on completing the vaccination of health care workers and vulnerable groups, and building a robust workforce of community health workers.

‘The experience and learnings from Phase I will enable us to move with greater speed and scale to deliver with accelerated impact to our member states’, Director General of the Africa CDC, Dr Jean Kaseya, said.

According to the World Bank, each month of delay in effective vaccine deployment costs Africa $13.8 billion in lost GDP. An African-led health project, the SLL initiative seeks to improve the health and well-being of all Africans.