A batch of 1 million doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 made by Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd of China, and donated by the Chinese government, have arrived in Mozambique, the Chinese Embassy in Maputo says.

The embassy issued a written statement quoting Mozambican Health Minister Armindo Tiago as saying the doses would help speed up the inoculation drive in his country, in response to increases in the numbers of Mozambicans infected with new variants of the COVID-19 virus, requiring hospital treatment for them, or killed by them.

The statement quotes Chinese Ambassador to Mozambique Wang Hejun as saying the doses, delivered on Tuesday, are the first of the 1 billion that Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised Africa.

The Chinese and Mozambican governments are staying in close contact to make arrangements to keep Mozambique supplied with vaccine next year, Mr Wang’s embassy quotes him as saying.