Canada will donate more than 1.3-million doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine to three African countries through the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, GAVI said on Thursday.

Nigeria, Kenya and Niger will receive first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) said.

The COVAX facility, backed by the World Health Organization and GAVI, aims to secure 2-billion vaccine doses for lower income countries by the end of 2021.