The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented burden on the health and social protection systems, as well as a severe setback for the economy. Immunisation is one of the most effective public health interventions – both in terms of lives saved and in terms of economic benefits. In other words, the vaccine is the main pathway out of the pandemic and access to vaccines as of primary importance to reach that goal.

With this project, the European Union helps mitigate the social and economic impact of COVID-19 in Montenegro. In particular, it aims to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines purchased through EU-funded interventions are administered in Montenegro to the identified priority groups – primarily to health workers, the elderly, vulnerable and high-risk people.

Moreover, the EU is one of the leading donors to support equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. The EU and its Member States have made vaccine donations to support the immunisation process in Montenegro: the EU donated 42,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine; Slovenia donated 42,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine; France donated 117,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine; Poland donated 100,840 doses of the Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine; Croatia donated 10,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine; Slovakia also donated 10,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, whereas Hungary donated 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.

Vaccines are among the greatest achievements of modern medicine. As Oana Cristina Popa, the EU Ambassador to Montenegro, put it: “The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, but now we have effective tools to fight it. I urge everyone in Montenegro to get vaccinated so that we can beat this and other diseases together with the help of vaccines.”