Less than 0.1 per cent of the COVID-19 vaccines administered worldwide, so far, were administered in Africa, the United Nations has said. This is despite the continent making up about 20 per cent of the global population.
On Sunday, the UN said over 70 million doses of the approved COVID-19 vaccines have been administered so far globally.
But less than 20,000 doses of these vaccines were administered in Africa, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a tweet on Sunday night.
Mr Guterres said a wide vaccination campaign is needed to prevent global immunity gaps which could put everyone at risk.
“More than 70 million #COVID19 vaccine doses have been administered so far. Less than 20,000 of these were on the African continent,” he said.
“A global immunity gap puts everyone at risk. We need a global vaccination campaign that reaches everyone, everywhere.”
Global health experts had warned that Africa will be the last region to get enough supplies of the doses of the much-needed vaccine for the highly contagious disease which is spreading rapidly across the globe.
A coalition of organisations and activists, dubbed The People’s Vaccine Alliance, found that “rich nations, representing just 14 per cent of the world’s population, had bought up more than half (53 per cent) of all the most promising vaccines,” the BBC reported.
That included all of Moderna’s vaccines for 2021 and 96 per cent of Pfizer’s expected production.
Canada topped the chart, according to the data by analytics company, Airfinity, “with enough doses to vaccinate each Canadian five times.” Much of that demand has to be met before other countries can have a turn.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had warned against inequality in COVID-19 vaccines distribution worldwide, hence the establishment of a global mechanism established last April, known as the COVAX Facility to ensure all countries have access to vaccines.
“Even as they speak the language of equitable access, some countries and companies continue to prioritize bilateral deals, going around COVAX, driving up prices and attempting to jump to the front of the queue. This is wrong,” WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said.
African countries
Most African countries, including Nigeria, are banking on benefitting from the COVAX programme, which was set-up to divide over a billion doses of vaccines across 92 low-and middle-income countries.
The facility promised access…
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