The Italian government has donated 149,760 doses of Pfizer vaccines to The Gambia to help meet its 70% vaccination target.

Speaking at the ceremony today, Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, minister of health said: “These vaccines, which are among the updated version of the Pfizer vaccines, offer an even more potent and robust protection against Covid-19, including against the Omicron sub-variants.”

Meanwhile, Italy Ambassador to Senegal overseeing The Gambia Giovanni Umberto De Vito said the donation represents Italy’s continued support to The Gambia, including in the post-pandemic phase and in the framework of our excellent bilateral relations. 

“We deeply appreciate the critical role played by COVAX partners in multilateral efforts aimed at sustaining the local health sector and improve population welfare,” he added. 

“UNICEF shares a strong commitment with Italy and our European partners to support The Gambia’s COVID-19 vaccination programme,” Gordon Jonathan Lewis, UNICEF The Gambia Representative said. 

“We commend our Italian and European partners and underscore the importance of this donation, especially as the Ministry of Health steps up COVID-19 vaccinations to protect people from the virus,” he also added.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba