One in 15 Africans is fully vaccinated, compared to about 70% in G7 countries. (file)
London:
Africa has little chance of overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic unless 70% of its population is vaccinated by the end of 2022, yet “excessive vaccine discrimination” is leaving the continent behind, published on Monday stated in a report.
The discovery of the Omicron variant in southern Africa has fueled claims that low vaccination rates may encourage viral mutations, which can then spread to countries where rates are very high.
Yet only 54 of Africa’s 54 countries are on track to reach the goal of fully immunizing 40% of the population by the end of 2021, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation said in a report on COVID-19 in Africa.
One in 15 Africans have been fully vaccinated, compared to about 70% in the G7 group of wealthy countries, according to figures from the Foundation set up by the Sudanese telecom billionaire to promote better governance and economic development in Africa.
“From the beginning of this crisis, our foundation and other African voices have been warning that a non-vaccinated Africa could become an ideal incubator for variants,” its president Mo Ibrahim said in a statement.
“The rise of Omicron reminds us that COVID-19 remains a global threat, and vaccination of the entire world is the only way forward,” he said. “Yet we continue to live with extreme vaccine discrimination, and Africa in particular is being left behind.”
The supply of vaccines in Africa has shrunk after developed countries received initial orders from pharmaceutical companies and the global vaccine-sharing program, COVAX, has begun to slow.
The report said the delivery of vaccines to Africa has accelerated in recent months, but the rollout has been halted because of weak health systems and limited infrastructure.
There is also confusion about short expiration dates on donated vaccines, which have led to some perishables.
Monday’s report said the pandemic has exposed the weakness of African citizen registration capabilities, with only 10% of African deaths officially registered. Weak systems raised the possibility that vaccination rates were even lower than official figures.
The foundation also said threadbare social safety nets should be strengthened to protect vulnerable people – the average spending in Africa on the COVID-19 response, measured as a share of GDP excluding healthcare, is less than half the global average. was even lower at 2.4%.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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