That's how the U.

N describes the distribution of covert vaccines around the world is rich nations scrambled to buy Oppa's much of the supply?

Many places are left out entirely, but today there's Bean a victory of sorts.

Ghana has become the first country to receive vaccines through the Kovacs Vaccine Sharing Initiative.

They're produced by the Serum Institute of India.

A total of 600,000 doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in Oxford University has arrived in the Ghana capital Accra.

But what about the Kovacs plan?

And how can it help ensure that vaccines have shared fairly amongst all nations?

The World Health Organization program is aiming to deliver two billion doses two people in 190 countries by the end of the year.

In particular, it wants to ensure that 90 to poorer countries will receive access to vaccines at the same time that 98 wealthier countries, the scheme has so far raised around $6 billion but says it needs a least another two billion to meet its target for 2021.

Well, Thomas Noddy is in a craft for us.

The supply arrived this morning around 7 a.m. Local time on then the Minister of Health and other dignitaries where other critical international airport to receive the toxins on.

So before these verses arrived, the country had decided to that authorities have decided to educate people about the vaccines, the fact that it was safe for them to use and that it was going toe order another soup protocols.

So the rule out is expected next month and it will be done between March and October and they are targeting about 20 million Ghanaians.

Onda What's the response bean there?

Onda How are they deciding exactly who receives it?

Well, the response has been good because God has seen a spike in cases um incorporate 19 cases.

There were elections in December and also because of the Christmas festivities, we saw a rising cases.

People abandoned some of the protocols on, so hospitals were overwhelmed with limited Isis your facilities.

The arrival of this particular vaccine has come as a great relief to health workers and a lot of Ghanaians on.

Now they want toe prioritize only helps line frontline health workers and then people with underlying health conditions as well as adults see yes on a bar, but will also be fascinating.

Other frontline workers in the security agencies.

We have members of parliament, the executive on also the judiciary on.

Do you know why Ghana was chosen for this delivery?

First, Ghana has, over the years bean engaging in vaccination programs on because off that they've been able to bird on effective vaccine infrastructure.

To be able to do this on is one of the reasons why UNICEF considered Ghana as the first country to receive these particular versions, are there in Accra.

Well, I'm joined now by Edwina Korea, executive director for Africa for the One campaign, which aims to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030.

Thanks so much for joining us.

Your reaction to this roll out today.

E.

It's been longer long awaited, so it's really welcome development.

Very welcome news.

You can see the excitement already in Ghana in terms off being the first to receive this thing's doses s Oh, yes, it's really welcome development, and we've been really excited about it.

Can you just clarify how this whole system is working?

Is this about, um, donations from any nation that is able to go into a central pot and then that it sort of buys up supplies from commercial vaccine makers.

No, the Kovacs the facility.

It's you know, it's a multilateral framework that is really spearheaded by the W, H, O and Gavi.

And the idea here is to pull funding to pull, fund and be able to access vaccines from the manufacturers themselves as soon as they get they become available.

So that, um, all the countries around the world, whether you have the financing or you don't will be able to have access at least a critical vaccines that will take care off So key populations like the health workers, like the people in all of that.

The Kobach facility is aiming to reach about 25% off population in low income countries.

But this pull funding is, as as it's designed, requires the the support off the richer nations, and that's why it has really been.

Basically, we're promoting that because if they don't get that support, that initial, um, access to these vaccines in terms of the timing, which is also very important, what did happen and so it's not just about richer nations donating their doses.

It's also about pull funding to be able to access directly from manufacturers as soon as it is available.

Yes, so how?

How is it decided?

For example, in countries which are manufacturing vaccine like India in this case, Others, of course, right around the world, whether they give that vaccine supply to their own domestic populations through domestic governments or whether they supply it and redistribute it.

So it's It's not necessarily about the logistics of how it gets toe the countries that I needed that needed.

It's a bit complex.

There are some arrangement that already happened within the Kovacs system that requires how prepared other countries.

So when vaccines become, available, say, for instance, from India the AstraZeneca vaccine when it becomes available, which countries are ready prepared with a plan to be able to distribute immediately.

Those are the kind of constructions that come into it now for India, for instance, it has it's own plan as a country, either as part off Kovacs or on its own.

The African Union has it's own plan as a continent, whether as part of Kovacs as well as independent procurement mechanisms, so it depends on what is available.

Who is able to make this available as that when it is due and who has the plan to be able to distribute this as soon as it arrives?

Those are the kind of considerations that take place, but it's about commitment first.

So, for instance, at the African Union they have to have procured, they basically pay for for commitment so that when the vaccines are produced, just like rich countries have done already with manufacturers, they pay in advance.

I want to get that commitment they're able to them shipped to them as soon as are the vaccine become available.

So the Kovacs is doing the same thing, making commitments, pre paying in advance for the vaccines to be available as soon as it's available.

It is shipped based on designs that they've already made to get to those who are ready.

Andi, I'm participating to take place just very briefly.

Which countries need to step up mawr.

And in what way is this about basically getting more funding?

Yeah, the accelerator or the Kovacs process itself needs more funding.

It requires the main.

The main call right now is that the vaccines need to get people on time.

And if the Kovacs facility doesn't get the funding it requires, this is not goingto happen on this is the reason why they're stepping up off.

The G seven nations has been quite very helpful in that in that sense, so that it has.

If they don't get the funding, it will take a longer time for the vaccines to get to those who needed on.

That is the biggest challenge that we're facing right now.

A very important message.

Edwin Ikaria from the one campaign.

Many thanks indeed for joining us.

Thank you for having me.