USAID: Morocco to receive freezers equipment for preservation of COVID-19 vaccine

The US has delivered 7 specially equipped freezers to Morocco in order to increase the Health Ministry’s COVID-19 vaccine storage capacity, said the US Embassy Morocco on its Facebook page on January 21.

USAID, an independent agency that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance, in coordination with UNICEF, provided the freezers capable of storing over 2 million vaccine doses – accounting for 45% of Morocco’s ultra-cold chain storage, according to the same source.

In addition to the freezers, the U.S. government has invested almost $20 million in Morocco’s COVID-19 pandemic response.

“We have worked with the Ministry of Health and other partners to raise awareness about COVID-19 risks, trained healthcare workers, studied vaccine effectiveness, enhance Morocco’s vaccine cold chain, and provide hygiene and laboratory equipment and supplies,” said the US Embassy Morocco on the same Facebook post.

The US is the world’s largest donor to COVAX, a global initiative aimed at ensuring equitable vaccine distribution, having contributed $4 billion through USAID.

To date, the US government has donated over 290 million doses of vaccines to over 100 countries and is providing over one billion doses of Pfizer vaccine to 92 countries and economies, including the African Union.

“For every shot, we have administered in the US to date—the American people are now donating three shots to other countries,” the same Facebook post indicated.

Morocco is expected to receive over 1.5 million more Pfizer doses from the US in the upcoming weeks.

Previously, the US COVAX program provided more than 850,000 Pfizer vaccine doses to Morocco as well as more than 300,000 J&J vaccine doses earlier in 2021.