Africa takes aim at Covid-19 vaccination targets
Africa is 50 million doses short of what’s needed to reach its target and fully vaccinate the most vulnerable 10% of its population by the end of September.
CAPE TOWN, September 17 (ANA) – Africa is currently 50 million doses short of what’s needed to reach its target and fully vaccinate the most vulnerable 10% of its population by the end of September.
In a statement released on Wednesday, New Vaccines Introduction Officer for WHO Africa, Dr Phionah Atuhebwe, said Covid-19 vaccine shipments have increased fourfold in the past month with 21 million doses delivered in August.
The current data shows that many countries have picked up the pace, with 11 nations having already hit their targets and 13 others will soon meet theirs.
Atuhebwe said various issues such as cold chain storage, logistics, funding, ensuring enough trained vaccinators and staff are on hand and data management have hampered many African nations from attaining their required goals.
“Many countries still need to speed up and they must urgently tackle the operational gaps they face,” said Atuhebwe.
“As the co-lead of the Covax facility, we are sourcing vaccine supplies. We are also helping countries to plan, co-ordinate, budget and continually refine all areas of the vaccine roll-out,” she said.
Atuhebwe added that WHO teams have been operating on the ground across Africa, giving real-time advice and assistance, and that they’re planning to step up technical support to countries that are really struggling to ramp up their roll-outs.
Meanwhile, WHO and partners from Covax are collaborating with a South African consortium to set up a technology transfer hub in South Africa to help boost and scale up mRNA vaccine production in Africa.
The goal for the tech hub is for foreign manufacturers to share techniques with African institutions to allow them to produce mRNA vaccines like the Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement at the launch earlier this year that the tech transfer hub is a major advance that will put Africa on a path to self-determination.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the full extent of the vaccine gap between developed and developing economies,” said Ramaphosa.
“South Africa welcomes the opportunity to host a vaccine technology transfer hub and to build on the capacity and expertise that already exists on the continent,” he said.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher