Africa Should Bargain Hard for COVID Vaccine Equity: Lessons from Indonesia during Avian Flu

The Republic of Congo received just over 300,000 doses of the COVID vaccines through the COVAX Facility in August 2021. The international COVAX initiative aimed at guaranteeing global access to the vaccines, recently announced that it was being forced to slash planned deliveries to Africa, by around 150 million doses this year. The scheme is now expected to deliver 470 million doses through the end of December. These will be enough to protect just 17 per cent of the continent, far below the 40 per cent target, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Credit: UNICEF/Aimable TwiringiyimaBy Victoria Fan and Steve KuoMANOA, Hawaii / TAIPEI, Taiwan, Dec 6 2021 (IPS) Many countries around the world have punished most of the African continent for the scientific discovery of the Omicron variant through the imposition of travel bans. These travel bans are more injury upon the injury of low vaccination in Africa. Even well-intentioned rallying phrases such as “vaccine apartheid” or “vaccine equity” still lack the moral weight, indignation, and urgency that we should all feel, no matter which country we live. Words fail us. How can it be that—even now—vast swaths of a continent go without access to these lifesaving vaccines? How is this situation even possible, let alone acceptable? For sure, there’s not been enough vaccines arriving to African countries. Flowery donor pledges gone unfilled are no better than empty promises. Some say it’s the monopolized produ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa COVID-19 COVID-19 VACCINES Development & Aid Economy & Trade Featured Financial Crisis Headlines Health TerraViva United Nations Trade & Investment IPS UN Bureau Source Type: news