Africa accounts for a paltry two percent of doses used globally against coronavirus – a “vaccine apartheid” which a newly launched United Nations campaign hopes to tackle.
The UN Security Council in a resolution unanimously passed earlier this week urged more access to vaccines by African nations.
There is widespread criticism of the nature of the global distribution network for not addressing “vaccine inequality” which is rubbing the continent the wrong way.
To date only 24 million doses have been made available to Africa out of the 1.4 billion administered around the world, the UN says.
The organisation is leading the campaign for what it calls “equitable access to quality, safe, efficacious, and affordable Covid-19 diagnostics, therapeutics, medicines and vaccines”.
This campaign comes as the World Health Organization warns that African countries are facing a scarcity of vaccines amid concerns that further doses are in short supply on the continent.
As countries worldwide secure second dose vaccines, the WHO advised against stockpiling them when African nations are struggling to acquire first doses.
UN scribe Antonio Guterres warned that the continent’s crusade against the coronavirus is being undermined by inadequate supply of vaccine doses.
Export restrictions by more prosperous nations are also a challenge for African countries to readily access vaccine doses.
Guterres said the global Covax scheme which was established to ensure the equal distribution of Covid-19 vaccines worldwide should be reinforced.
Since the first coronavirus on the continent was confirmed in Egypt on 14 February 2020, Africa’s Covid cases now stand at close to 5 million with some 3 million recoveries and over 118, 000 deaths.
WN/as/APA