– Ethiopian Airlines boasts of an elaborate Pharma and Cargo wings which give it an edge in being considered as a carrier for vaccines
– The airline is a major cargo partner of WHO, WFP, donor governments and philanthropists among them Jack Ma
– Kenya Airways (KQ) also has several planes it intends to deploy in the transportation of vaccines once it gets hauling deals
– Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) already has a special pharma storage facility which is likely to make Nairobi a regional hub of temporary vaccine storage
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Ethiopian Airlines, one of Africa’s most competitive carriers, has delivered its first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa.
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam speaks during an interview with AFP in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on April 21, 2020. Photo: Getty Images.
Source: Getty Images
The Addis Ababa-based airline announced the vaccines were delivered to N’Djamena, Chad from Beijing, China on Saturday, February 6, aboard one of its special planes from the Pharma Wing.
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam, who didn’t comment on the type of vaccine and its quantity, said the shipment marked the start of its "fast deliveries" of the much-needed doses to the African continent. "We are glad that we have launched the delivery of our mission-critical service with the distribution of the much-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine," said GebreMariam who praised the airline for speed and professional delivery of PPEs in the region after COVID-19 brokeout in the continent in earlier 2020. South Africa
Despite Chad being the first to receive COVID-19 vaccines aboard the GebreMariam-led airline, it is not the first country in Africa to get the vaccine.
South Africa, which is the hardest-hit country in Africa, last week received doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines.The vials were shipped to South African aboard Emirates cargo plane. Emirates id the leading carrier in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Other countries that have started vaccination in Africa are Seychelles, Egypt and Morroco. PAY ATTENTION : Help us change more lives, join TUKO.co.ke’s Patreon programme Kenya Airways In a separate story, TUKO.co.ke reported that national carrier Kenya Airways had also rolled up its sleeves and is hoping to get roped-in in transporting COVID-19 vaccines.The Nairobi headquartered airline already has a fleet of wide-body planes with airconditioning facilities ready to transport the vaccines from manufacturers to the country and other places across […]
