Somalia has signed a deal with Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm to supply it with 200,000 doses of it Sinovac vaccine to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Somalia's ambassador to China Awale Kullane signed the agreement on behalf of his country.

Somalia began its inoculation campaign on 16 March after receiving 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab through the Covax initiative, which aims to ensure tthat vaccines are shared fairly among all nations.

Somalia has so far confirmed 11,978 cases of Covid-19 and 576 deaths.