The World Health Organisation has warned of emerging trends that they say could be a ‘catastrophic moral failure’ due to unequal Covid-19 Vaccine access. Speaking on Monday, Tedros Ghebreyesus the Director General of the World Health Organisation called out the unfair inequitable distribution of Covid-19 Vaccines as richer countries receive priority in access to the vaccine. The unequal access, he said is likely to prolong the pandemic and its effects. He said that richer countries are buying up and hoarding all the available vaccines, leaving none for the poorer countries. “More than 39 million doses of vaccine have now been administered in at least 49 higher-income countries. Just 25 doses have been given in one lowest-income country. Not 25 million; not 25,000; just 25,” he told a press conference on Monday evening. Last year, an initiative, COVAX, was formed to ensure fair access to vaccines for every country, especially poorer countries that might not have the finances to pay for volumes of vaccines. According to WHO, the organization has managed to secure two billion doses from five producers. However, the World Health organisation chief fears that plans to start deliveries soon to many of the world’s poorer countries could be at risk as some rich countries have shown intentions of backtracking on their promises of equitable distribution. “The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure and the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries,” he said. Calling on countries to maintain their commitment to the global vaccine-sharing scheme Covax, which is due to start in February, Tedros challenged the world to ensure that by World Health Day, April 7, Covid-19 vaccines are being administered in every country. Dr Daniel Ngamije, the Minister for Health, said Rwanda is ready to receive the vaccine and have met all preconditions to receive the vaccine under the Covax programme. This he said puts Rwanda among the top two nations with regard to preparedness to receive the vaccine. Outside the Covax programme, Ngamije said that Rwanda was also pursuing vaccines through other arrangements from producers with President Paul Kagame also involved in the process. African countries on the other hand have banded together to commence making orders in an attempt to secure the vaccine. On Tuesday, the Africa Medical Supplies Platform, on behalf of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), commenced the Covid-19 vaccines pre-order programme for all African Union Member States. Afreximbank will facilitate payments by providing advance procurement commitment guarantees of up to US$2 billion to the manufacturers on behalf of the Member States. Africa Medical Supplies Platform is a single-source platform enabling faster, more transparent and cost-effective access to Covid-19 supplies aiming at offering an equitable access of Covid-19 vaccines doses for 55 African Union member states. African Union Special Envoy on the initiative Strive Masiyiwa said that there is still a huge shortage of vaccine doses hence the continental collaboration designed to achieve a fair allocation coupled with timely and equitable access of Covid-19 vaccines across the continent. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) said that by providing advance procurement commitment guarantees of up to US$2 billion to candidate vaccine manufacturers, African States should be able to rapidly access Covid-19 vaccines, at competitive prices and in a timely manner. To support vaccination operations, the Africa Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP) has also launched a new category on vaccine accessories which will help Member States to procure products such as ultra-low temperature freezers, personal protection equipment, cotton wool rolls, syringes and needles. Dr John Nkengasong, Director of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, noted that the biggest challenge to Covid-19 vaccine access in Africa has been financing of the vaccines and the logistics of vaccinating at scale. The programme will complement the 270M provisional vaccine doses announced by the African Union Chairperson, President Cyril Ramaphosa on the 14th of January 2021 through the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team.
