Africa will not be able to overcome the covid-19 pandemic unless 70% of its population is vaccinated by the end of 2022, but “extreme vaccination discrimination” has left the continent behind, according to a report released today.
The detection of the varicosate of the coronavirus in southern Africa has brought to the fore the debate that low vaccination rates against covid-19 are contributing to the emergence of new strains, which can then spread to countries where the immunization rate is very high. bigger.
Only five of the 54 African countries are well on their way to achieving the World Health Organization’s goal of fully vaccinating 40% of their population against covid-19 by the end of 2021, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation said in a report.
Only one in 15 Africans is fully immunized against covid-19, compared to almost 70% of G7 residents, according to the foundation.
“Since the beginning of the crisis, our Foundation and other African voices have warned that an unvaccinated Africa could be the perfect incubator for different strains,” the report added.
“The appearance of the Omicron strain reminds us that covid-19 remains a global threat and that vaccinating the whole world is the only way forward,” he said. “However, we are still experiencing extreme vaccination discrimination and Africa is far behind.”
Vaccines shipped to Africa are few, as developed countries secured first orders from pharmaceutical companies while the COVAX mechanism began distributing vaccines to the poorest countries at a slow pace.
Delivery of covid-19 vaccines to Africa has accelerated in recent months, but they are difficult to administer due to the limited infrastructure of most countries on the continent and weak health systems.
There is also confusion over the short expiration date of vaccines donated by other countries to Africa, which has had to destroy many of them.
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