Egypt to Receive More AstraZeneca, Pfizer Doses

Egyptians get tested for Covid-19 at a drive-through coronavirus-testing center in Cairo. (AFP file photo)
Egyptians get tested for Covid-19 at a drive-through coronavirus-testing center in Cairo. (AFP file photo)
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Egypt to Receive More AstraZeneca, Pfizer Doses

Egyptians get tested for Covid-19 at a drive-through coronavirus-testing center in Cairo. (AFP file photo)
Egyptians get tested for Covid-19 at a drive-through coronavirus-testing center in Cairo. (AFP file photo)

Egypt announced on Monday it expects to receive new doses of the Pfizer, AstraZenca and Johnson & Johnson vaccine, stressing the role the inoculation drive plays in curbing daily COVID-19 infections.

The Ministry of Health confirmed that the second dose of the vaccine is safe for all residents who received the first jab.

Egypt has in recent weeks witnessed a significant decline in coronavirus infections.

On Monday, the country recorded 117 new cases, bringing the total to 283,102. The Health Ministry announced 13 new deaths, raising the total to 16,396 nationwide.

Meanwhile, Health and Population Minister Hala Zayed said Monday that Egypt agreed to join the Treaty for the Establishment of the African Medicines Agency (AMA), which aims to localize the manufacture of medicines and vaccines across Africa.

The announcement came during a press conference in the presence of representative of the African Union for the AMA, Michel Sidibe and head of the health division at the African Union Commission, Dr. Margaret Agama.

“Egypt will work through the AMA to serve the African people, and supply them with medicines and vaccines that are produced locally in Egypt, after achieving local sufficiency and according to the signed agreements,” Zayed said.

For his part, Sidibe praised Egypt’s efforts to locally manufacture medicines and vaccines. “Countries that are incapable of securing vaccine doses, would be unable to protect their people,” he stressed.

Sidibe said 15 million out of Africa’s 1.3 billion people have been already inoculated against the virus.

Meanwhile, Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said Egypt will receive 2 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine by the end of the week, in addition to raw materials sufficient to produce 10 million Sinovac doses.

He confirmed that the coming days should witness an expansion of the vaccination drive after Egypt receives a large quantity of doses.

Presidential Adviser for Health Affairs Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din said Egypt is on its way to gradually receive 25 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines from the African Union.

In an interview with a local channel, he confirmed that Egypt has not yet recorded any case of the Delta variant, adding that his country is dealing firmly with the pandemic to prevent a fourth wave.

In a related development, Advisor to the Ministry of Health for Research Dr. Noha Assem confirmed that Egypt is heading towards self-sufficiency in vaccines, adding that the country should meet all local needs by August.



US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)

The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The moves deal a blow to the RSF's attempts to burnish its image and assert legitimacy - including by installing a civilian government- as the paramilitary group seeks to expand its territory beyond the roughly half of the country it currently controls.

The RSF rejected the measures.

"America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong. Today, it is rewarding those who started the war by punishing (RSF leader) General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, which is also wrong," said an RSF spokesman when reached for comment.

The war in Sudan has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. It has also carried out mass looting campaigns across swathes of the country, arbitrarily killing and sexually assaulting civilians in the process.

The RSF denies harming civilians and attributes the activity to rogue actors it says it is trying to control.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.

"The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities," Blinken said.

Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him and his family from travelling to the US and freezing any US assets he might hold. Financial institutions and others that engage in certain activity with him also risk being hit with sanctions themselves.

It had previously sanctioned other leaders, as well as army officials, but had not sanctioned Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as attempts to bring the two sides to talks continued.

Such attempts have stalled in recent months.

"As the overall commander of the RSF, Hemedti bears command responsibility for the abhorrent and illegal actions of his forces," the Treasury said.

Sudan's army and RSF have been fighting for almost two years, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies struggle to deliver relief. More than half of Sudan's population faces hunger, and famine has been declared in several areas.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

Blinken said in the statement that "both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and lack the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan."

The US has sanctioned army leaders as well as individuals and entities linked to financing its weapons procurement. Last year, Blinken accused the RSF and the army, which has carried out numerous indiscriminate air strikes, of war crimes.