The African Union secured almost 300 million Covid-19 vaccine doses for the continent, a step toward starting the complex task of inoculating more than 1.2 billion people with limited logistical and financial resources.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also the AU chairman, is expected to give more detail on the vaccines later on Wednesday, according to Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, deputy director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The order would be by far the largest on the continent to date.

While several wealthy nations around the world pre-ordered vaccines ahead of regulatory approval and have now started rollouts, there are concerns Africa has been left behind. The continent has recorded more than 3 million infections, a fraction of the global figure of more than 91 million, though less reliable reporting methods and skepticism from some leaders may have distorted the figure.

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