As of May 3, 2021, 1.16 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered worldwide. 36.1% of the vaccine doses was administered among the 27 wealthiest countries globally, which account for only 10.5% of the global population.
Within the same period, Africa, which accounts for 17.6% of the global population, had administered vaccines to less than two per cent of its people.
Africa suffers from the centralised worldwide production and distribution imbalance, as its dependence on Western manufacturers exposes it to the consequences of vaccine nationalism and procurement constraints. Africa manufactures only one per cent of the vaccines used on the continent. This lack of vaccine-manufacturing capacity, together with the continent’s faulty health infrastructure, indicates that vaccines will likely be a significant factor in disease control even beyond COVID-19….
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