- Peter Mwai
- BBC Reality Czech
Image source, Getty Images
Corona vaccine nurse
The goal of having 40% of all countries vaccinated by the end of December 2020 is not feasible in most African countries.
The World Health Organization has set the goal set out above. But across the African continent, so far only 9% of the population has been fully vaccinated against corona.
The Omigron strain, found in South Africa, has been spreading around the world for the past few weeks, making it less of a concern to vaccinate at present.
Which African countries achieved the goal?
Only seven countries on the African continent have reached the 40% target.
Three of the countries are small islands, where traffic problems are not major. More than 70 percent of the total population of Seychelles and Mauritius are vaccinated. About 45% of people in Cape Verde are vaccinated.
In addition, Morocco, Tunisia, Botswana and Rwanda are the only countries in the center of the African continent that have crossed the line.
Countries in the southern part of the African continent performed relatively better than those below the Sahara.
As of December 30, almost half of the countries on the African continent, more than 10 percent of the population had been vaccinated. The World Health Organization said the goal should be achieved by September 2020. Many African countries have also failed to meet this.
In many countries on the African continent (including the largest countries on the continent) only 5% of the total population is vaccinated.
Coronavirus vaccination profile in Africa
- Ethiopia 3.5%
- Nigeria 2.1%
- Democratic Republic of the Congo 0.1%
Most shocking of all, corona vaccination has not yet begun in Eritrea, on the African continent.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a target of 70% of all nations being vaccinated by June 2022. But this goal may not be achieved in Africa.
“Given the current situation, it is estimated that 70% of people in Africa will be vaccinated by August 2024,” said Madshidiso Moidi, director of the World Health Organization’s African region.
Why do African countries stumble upon vaccination?
Image source, Getty Images
Vaccine-paying nurse
Weak health structures, lack of funds to train and deploy medical personnel, and inadequate facilities to store vaccines play a major role.
Despite the increase in the global distribution of vaccines, some countries in the world are lagging behind in terms of proper distribution within the country and vaccination of the people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Africa have expressed concern that some vaccines are being given in short supply and soon to expire.
They are required to be notified at least one month prior to sending the vaccine and to be provided with vaccine reserves as soon as the vaccine arrives in their hand so that it does not expire in two and a half months.
Reluctance and skepticism about the corona vaccine may be the main reason for the low vaccination rate, but it cannot be quantified.
The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that last November 2020, there was a low vaccination rate among health workers in Africa. This may also be due to reluctance to vaccinate, availability of the vaccine, or difficulty in making it easily available for vaccination.
Problem with vaccine distribution
Image source, Getty Images
Image similar to the distribution of the corona vaccine
African countries also relied on global agreements, donations, and the Kovacs program, a global vaccine distribution program, to obtain the vaccines they need.
Many countries struggled to get vaccinated last year, but the environment has changed significantly over the past few months. Wealthy countries either announced donations of vaccines through the Kovacs program or donated directly to African countries at the G7 summit in the UK last June 2020.
Countries are getting enough of the vaccine and are facing transportation problems bringing the vaccine domestically to where it is needed. It must be discarded.
“As the availability of the vaccine has increased at present, we need to focus on other things that are a barrier to vaccination, including the reluctance to get the corona vaccine, as well as the lack of adequate funding, medical equipment, health workers, and refrigeration facilities,” said Matsidiso Moidi.
Only 63% of the vaccines distributed to Africa have been vaccinated. Nearly half of the countries in Africa have used less than 50 percent of their vaccines, according to the latest World Health Organization data.
What is the cause of vaccine shortage?
Corona vaccine distribution details
Many African countries relied on the Kovacs program for their vaccine needs. The Kovacs project relied heavily on the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, for most of its vaccine inventory.
Last April, India banned the export of corona vaccine for its own urgent need. Other vaccine manufacturers were unable to increase their production.
Last December, the serum company announced that it was reducing its production as new orders for the vaccine fell. So the problem of vaccine distribution is not a major problem at present.
Rich countries have signed a number of agreements with companies that are developing new vaccines that are being developed or are being tested.
It is noteworthy that last December it was stated that the number of corona vaccines that the Covex program will receive further is not certain, despite the increase in vaccine supply through the Covex program.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 40 million people across the African continent need 900 million (90 million) vaccines to be vaccinated.
As of December 30, the African continent had received slightly more than 474 million vaccines through the Kovacs program and the African Union vaccination program.