A group of 197 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya who are temporarily hosted in Rwanda received their first Covid-19 jabs on Wednesday, March 10, marking the sixth day of the ongoing national vaccination program.

The group was inoculated from the Gashora Emergency Transit Mechanism located in Bugesera District, alongside other 154 staff members at the facility.

Olivier Kayumba, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Emergency Management, told The New Times that the move is part of the government’s plan to integrate refugees especially those who are expected to be relocated in the nationwide vaccination drive.

Among the asylum seekers, he said, majority are accommodated at the Gashora facility while others are in Kiziba and Gihembe refugee camps.

"Today we started with asylum seekers from Libya at this facility, they are here (Rwanda) in transit and there is a plan to be resettled which is why they have been prioritized.”

He added, "But we have more in Kiziba camp and Gihembe camp that are also part of the group to be relocated. We will continue the vaccination in all these areas as we receive more vaccines.”

Since 2019, Rwanda has been receiving refugees and asylum seekers who were evacuated from Libya, after being stranded there for varying periods.

The move is in line with the framework established through a tripartite agreement between the Government of Rwanda, UNHCR, and the African Union.

Under the agreement, Rwanda committed to host African refugees trapped in Libya after their desperate efforts to make it to European countries were cut short.

We didn’t expect the jabs soon

A number of refugees who are part of the group that got vaccinated commended the government of Rwanda.

"As a father of two, it is fulfilling to receive my first shot. It is also exciting,” said 21-year old, Abdul Basil Ismail Mohammed.

"Here at the camp, sometimes you are scared that in the wake of any infection, the whole family might be victimized,” the Somalia-born added, "I thank the government of Rwanda for giving us priority.”

Similarly, Eritrean-born Azib Kedani, 39, said, "I am feeling well and didn’t notice any change. I didn’t expect it to happen this soon, it was a surprise. I am very happy to receive the vaccine amongst the first people and I didn’t think we could be prioritized.”

For Hassan Abdelbagi Hussein, being vaccinated while in Rwanda is an opportunity given that he has not landed in his resettlement country.

"I am from Sudan, I feel very happy after being vaccinated, I can’t describe my happiness at all, I was not expecting to be vaccinated very fast like this, I thought that I will not be vaccinated at all.”

"I really thank the government of Rwanda for putting our lives as a priority even when we are just in transit.” The 27-year old reiterated.

Since Rwanda rolled out the Covid-19 nationwide vaccination program, more than 220,000 doses of the jabs have been administered.

The exercise was rolled out last week, Friday, March 5 from a total of 508 health centres in the country.

Also vaccinated on the sixth day are elderly residents at their respective health centres.

In addition to an initial shipment of 340,000 vaccine doses received last week, information from the Ministry of Health indicates that the country is expecting about 500,000 other jabs in the coming days.

The government is aiming to vaccinate 60 per cent of the country’s population by 2022.

By Tuesday, Rwanda had reported 19,779 confirmed infections with a total of 270 deaths.