WHO: World faces ‘moral crisis’ over vaccine sharing

The World Health Organization has been urging vaccine manufacturing countries to waive COVID-19 patent rights to ensure equitable access to vaccines worldwide. However, the slow progress in this regard has left many developing countries, particularly in Africa, struggling to secure an adequate supply of vaccines. This disparity in vaccine distribution has raised concerns about global solidarity and the urgent need for increased vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa. CNBC Africa spoke with Dr. Richard Mihigo, the World Health Organization Coordinator for Vaccines Development in Africa, to delve deeper into the issue. Dr. Mihigo highlighted key lessons learned from the current vaccine rollout in Africa and emphasized the pressing need for enhancing vaccine manufacturing potential on the continent. One of the key takeaways from the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Africa is the critical role of past experience in conducting mass vaccination campaigns for other diseases like measles, polio, and yellow fever. Countries that had well-established healthcare infrastructure and experienced healthcare workers were able to roll out vaccines more efficiently. Effective social mobilization campaigns also played a significant role in dispelling rumors and increasing vaccine acceptance, leading to quicker vaccine rollout in some regions. Despite these successes, the major challenge now faced by many countries in Africa is the limited vaccine supply, which impedes their ability to vaccinate beyond the initial priority groups. Dr. Mihigo emphasized the need to address this issue to ensure broader vaccine coverage and protect more people from COVID-19. Dr. Mihigo also highlighted the glaring disparity between vaccine distribution in high-income countries and African nations. While some Western countries are vaccinating even lower-risk populations like children, Africa struggles to vaccinate even 2% of its population. This glaring inequity underscores the urgent need for genuine global solidarity in vaccine sharing to combat the moral crisis of unequal access to essential vaccines. In addressing the need to boost vaccine manufacturing potential in Africa, Dr. Mihigo stressed the importance of recent initiatives, such as the African Union's conference on vaccine manufacturing. The statistics paint a stark picture of the urgency of the situation, with only a fraction of global vaccine doses reaching Africa. Local vaccine production is touted as a critical step to ensure that African countries can secure an adequate supply of vaccines to protect their populations. Looking ahead, Dr. Mihigo emphasized the importance of preparedness to prevent future vaccine crises. Strengthening health systems, enhancing surveillance capacities, and investing in local vaccine production are all vital components of ensuring that Africa is better equipped to handle future pandemics or epidemics. As the world grapples with the challenges of vaccine distribution and access, the lessons learned from the current crisis highlight the urgent need for collective action to address global health disparities and ensure equitable access to life-saving vaccines.