new cases and no vaccines. A continent for a handful of doses – Corriere.it

by time news

In Africa, no vaccines. Everyone knows this and everyone shrugs, from China to Russia to the G7 meeting on Saturday in Cornwall: out of nearly two billion administrations in the world, only 1% ended up in African arms. Just over 30 million first doses, just above the Italian level, 7 million completely immunized out of 1.3 billion inhabitants. And soon no new arrivals are expected to make up for lost time.

New cases

Meanwhile, while the West reopens, Africa is in the grip of the third wave: in 14 countries in the last ten days there has been a 30% increase in new cases. On paper, the continent accounts for 3% of global infections. But the official figures (130,000 deaths, more or less like Italy) hide a chasm of unregistered victims. And a threatening future. In Uganda, hospitals are full of Covid, in Malawi the few vaccines have arrived expired, Morocco and Rwanda are dry. The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an appeal (which the G7 does not seem willing to listen to): in the coming weeks, 200 million doses are urgently needed if at least 10% of the African population is to be vaccinated by the end of September.


The dry tap

The tap of Covax, the WHO program to which the hopes of poor countries and the respectability of others relied, began to shut down after India, overwhelmed by the pandemic, blocked exports in March (they will start again in October): the vast majority of the bottles destined for Africa (almost all AstraZeneca) had to come from the Serum Institute of India. Even the lucky ones who received the first syringe, now from Ethiopia to Ghana are unsure of getting the rest before the recommended three-month deadline. Covax scrambles to announce a deal to buy 500 million doses from Moderna. The African Union has an agreement with Johnson & Johnson for another 400. But this avalanche of vaccines all on paper, certainly not in the hold of the aircraft. And the coffers of many governments cannot be counted on, because what he said is valid Courier service Dr. Githinji Gitahi who leads the NGO Amref: To vaccinate a person in a country like Kenya you have to spend 15 dollars. That is, almost half of all per capita health expenditure for a full year. Here the cost of a vaccine is measured in crumbs, in Africa half the cake.

The proposal to the G7

Unicef ​​and Wellcome Trust asked Boris Johnson, which hosts the G7, to promote an action that would define the fate of the century by involving the other countries of the club: donate 20% of vaccine reserves to Africa in the next three months. The US should expel 27 million doses, Great Britain and Germany 4 million, Italy just over 2 million like Japan. The London government has already made it known that at the moment there is no talk of it. Perhaps they should also invite Phionah Atuhebwe, who is in charge of the WHO vaccine plan for Africa, to Cornwall, who told theBbc: If no vaccines arrive now, the virus will continue to run and churn out variants that will spread around the world and send us all back to square one. Rich countries (including the EU, but not China, which does not participate in the plan) are pledging $ 2.4 billion for Covax. The fact that producers can’t keep up with our demand. And Africa, now, needs vaccines in its arms more than money.


June 8, 2021 (change June 8, 2021 | 00:17)

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