PRETORIA, January 25. /TASS/. Russia has donated 100,000 doses of its Sputnik Light coronavirus vaccine to Benin as humanitarian aid, the official website of the Russian Embassy in the Republic of Benin reported on Tuesday.

The ceremony, attended by Russian Ambassador to Benin Igor Evdokimov and Benin’s Foreign Ministry Secretary General Herve Djokpe, took place at the airport of the republic’s economic capital, Cotonou.

"We express our gratitude to the government of the Russian Federation and the Russian Direct Investment Fund for their assistance in the fight against the coronavirus. This batch of Sputnik Light vaccine will allow Benin to continue implementing the national vaccination program against COVID-19," Djokpe said.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in Benin, an African country home to 12 million people, a total of 26,309 cases of infection were reported, along with 163 associated deaths.