The vaccination campaign has begun in Cameroon on Monday, all thanks to the donation of 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine by China.

The jabs arrived in the country’s capital Yaoundé last Sunday.

“The government encourages the population, especially priority targets to be vaccinated when the time comes,” wrote Health Minister Malachie Manaouda in a statement.

Cameroon, a country of about 26 million people, is officially one of the most affected countries in Africa by the epidemic, with 61,700 cases and 919 deaths.

Cameroon is slated to receive around 1.75 million doses from the COVAX global vaccine sharing scheme. The country has also ordered 1.29 million doses.