A new batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Chinese government arrives at Kigali International Airport in Kigali, Rwanda, Nov. 7, 2021. Photo Xinhua

Rwanda has now fully vaccinated 40 percent of its population against COVID-19, becoming the seventh African country to achieve the target set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the end 2021.

The East African country, with a population of around 12 million, has fully inoculated 5,313,421 people from a pool of 7,556,466 doses given so far.

In August, the WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, pointed out that Rwanda's success in the fight against COVID-19 had been made possible by the country's "strong leadership".

Dr. Tedros noted that the country's progress in the fight against the pandemic was due to a similar combination (as New Zealand) of strong leadership, universal health coverage, well-supported health workers and clear public health communications," said Tedros.

He hailed the country's move to avail free testing for all citizens, which he said had played a major role in its efforts to eliminate the virus from its borders.

By Saturday, Rwanda had recorded 103,799 COVID-19 cases with 1,345 fatalities.

The 40 percent target set by WHO was announced in October 2021, with a second target for all countries to vaccinate at least 70 percent of their populations by mid-2022. - CGTN