A generationAs a shocking symbol of the West’s failure to deliver on its promise to distribute vaccines fairly, millions of Covid vaccines that were produced in Africa in recent weeks have been shipped to Europe that were supposed to save the lives of Africans.In fact, this month and next month, I learned from African leaders that about 10 million single Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines Fill up and finish The Aspen plant in South Africa will be exported to Europe, just as Africa is struggling to cope with its The deadliest wave Covid-19 infection.
Compared with the rapid development of the pioneering Covid vaccine, it should be straightforward to get the vaccine into the world. But vaccine nationalism — and Europe’s neocolonial approach to global health — is dividing the world into the rich and the protected, who are alive while the poor are unprotected and at risk of death.
of 4.7 billion vaccines More than 80% went to the richest G20 countries.The gap between the rich and the poor is now so large that high-income countries have injected nearly 100 vaccines for every 100 citizens, while low-income countries have only vaccinated. 1.5 times per 100 times.
So far, the EU has received 496 million vaccines, and the EU has a population of approximately 440 million. The African population received only 77.3 million doses, It is almost three times the number of 1.3 billion people.Therefore, although 50% of the adult population in Europe, the United States, and the United Kingdom are now fully vaccinated, the figure for Africa is 1.8%, Far behind India, which only vaccinated 8% of the population. Due to the slow delivery of vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO) now predicts, 47 of 54 countries in Africa Even miss the very modest goal of vaccinating 10% of citizens in September. In countries such as Burundi, Not a single vaccine Not yet managed.
At the current rate, it is impossible for Africa to reach the level of vaccination in the West this year or next. Unsurprisingly, African leaders talked about “vaccine apartheid.”When Western governments are ready Booster vaccine, Millions of African nurses and health workers risk their lives to save others and will be completely unprotected. So will Africa’s vulnerable elderly population.
The vaccine plan should be a new type of “arms” race. One after another, one country after another should be able to inject its citizens. Conversely, the countries with the most vaccines have failed to help those with the fewest vaccines, and the devastating economic impact on employment and livelihoods is now leading to an increasingly divergent fate between poor and rich countries.Low vaccination rates across the African continent have caused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cut prices Africa’s economic outlook Once again, while increasing the growth rate of vaccinated Western countries, Africa’s growth rate is half that of the rest of the world
This Africa Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) is disappointed that the West has not fulfilled its promise to provide 700 million vaccines to Africa by the end of the year (Covax multinational organizations can only get 60m to date), now I have taken matters into my own hands. It has reached an agreement with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on 400 million single shot vaccines. To this end, it must overcome resistance from the European Union. It was not until South African President Cyril Ramaphosa intervened and threatened to ban the export of all vaccines from South Africa, that Europe agreed that from October onwards, all vaccines produced by Johnson & Johnson in Africa could stay in Africa. . Now, 30% of the adult population in Africa can guarantee vaccination, although this will not be completed until September next year.
But the vaccine has not yet met the African vaccination target, which is set to 60% of adults, or to cover the other 30% of people who have promised to provide vaccines in the West. As a result, I was told that the AU had no choice but to negotiate with China to purchase at least 200 million Chinese-made vaccines.The hijacking incident is now so serious that Vaccine “War Room” Created by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, WHO, and World Trade Organization (WTO) to help track, coordinate, and advance vaccine delivery. Nevertheless, only the political leadership of the G7 countries can ensure that all continents receive adequate supplies, and the number of vaccine negotiations in these countries far exceeds their populations.
By December, about 6 billion more doses of vaccine will be produced globally, and billions of doses will be added next year. These supplies are enough to allow each country to reach 60% of its vaccination target by next summer. The long-standing problem of unequal distribution of vaccines can only be solved by the level of global coordination that G7 and G20 leaders have so far lacked.
Two policy changes are urgently needed. Joe Biden, Boris Johnson and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (G20 Chairman) must now make changes at the G20 Vaccine Special Summit to be held next month. First, a virtuous circle must be created, starting with the richest countries providing guaranteed international funding to support and accelerate the development of new global manufacturing capabilities in poorer countries. This will include speeding up technology transfer through licensing agreements, which will benefit from temporary exemptions for vaccine patents.
Nevertheless, Africa still needs to be vaccinated immediately.Judging from the current situation, the United States has chosen 1.96 billion additional dosesThe European Commission can obtain an additional 1 billion injections, while Canada has already received 191 million injections (almost at some stage 10 vaccines Every citizen). Due to over-ordering, their population may not use all these vaccines, but in the process of obtaining preferential agreements, rich countries have effectively shut out African countries and cannot obtain the vaccines they desperately need. G7 leaders must now step in to ensure that supplies reach where they are most needed. Countries with oversupply must end their constraints on existing vaccines and future supplies.Not only must they release them to Africa, but, as proposed by the International Monetary Fund and the four former U.S. Treasury Secretaries, at least provide $50 billion in financial support Through Covax and ensure that the vaccine can be vaccinated quickly and safely with the required logistical assistance.
Ensuring access to vaccines for the African population is not just a priority for Africa. This is in all our enlightened self-interests.As a leading vaccine scientist in the UK Sara Gilbert It has been said that the biggest threat to all of us is the unbridled spread and mutation of Covid in unvaccinated countries. We must keep reminding ourselves that the reason for ensuring mass vaccination around the world is that unless everyone is safe, everyone is not safe, and everyone will live in fear until no one is safe.
