Only seven African nations on track for COVID-19 vaccine

[CAPE TOWN] Africa needs 225 million more doses of新冠肺炎疫苗in order to meet the global goal of vaccinating ten per cent of people in every country by September 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

The figures, released by the WHO last week (10 June) at the World Health Assembly, come as the continent’s total COVID-19 cases hit about five million.

“With疫苗stocks and shipments drying up, the continent’s vaccine coverage for the first dose remains stuck at around two per cent and about one per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa, while some wealthy nations race past the 60 per cent mark,” said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.

“We know that vaccines break the link between cases and deaths, and we need deliveries today not tomorrow.”

Matshidiso Moeti，非洲地区办事处

在非洲国家的案件增加，包括确认在埃及，南非，突尼斯，乌干达和赞比亚的浪潮，Moeti表示，达到全球疫苗接种目标将需要大量努力。

“如果目前供应的瑞玛的疫苗接种和推出ins constant, our concern is that only seven African countries are likely to reach the [ten per cent] target by September,” she added.

Moeti believes that recent vaccine donation announcements are encouraging. In April, French President Emmanuel Macron revealed a commitment to sharing 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine with COVAX, and US President Joe Biden announced on 10 June plans to donate 500 million doses of vaccine to low- and middle-income countries, the largest ever vaccine donation by a single country.

“We are very encouraged by wealthy countries now coming forward to announce intentions and starting to take action to share vaccines immediately with African countries,” added Moeti. “We need more of this.”

In addition to procuring vaccine doses, African countries must step up distribution efforts, says Moeti, including expanding vaccine campaigns to rural areas, providing资金用于交付和人员配备，并致力于提高疫苗信心。

“We know that vaccines break the link between cases and deaths, and we need deliveries today not tomorrow,” she added.

南非Desmond Tutu Health Foundation总监Linda-Gail Bekker告诉SciDev.Netthat vaccine coverage is critical in Africa, where high burden ofdiseasesstrain health systems and increase the likelihood of new COVID-19 variants.

“We know that if COVID-19 is allowed to go unchecked, particularly where there may be immune suppression due to艾滋病病毒,TBor other co-infection and co-morbidities, then we may see persistent infection in individuals with the development of new variant viruses,” she explained.

尽管她支持全球疫苗的共享，但她批评诸如非洲之类的公告越来越接近疫苗接种目标。她解释说：“例如，在南非，我们现在处于第三次浪潮状态，只在挫折后看到挫折，而不是在将疫苗接种到非洲大陆的国家的任何进展。”

Bekker补充说，现在是时候解决非洲在克服疫苗制造短缺方面的潜力了。

“We need to increase manufacturing capability and think创新about where and how manufacturing can be extended, and whether Africa could contribute to this in some way,” she added.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.