Health as much as four to five times more vaccines than they needed for their own people – and to donate whatever is left to Africans .
Africans are observing with incredulity as their lives take the backstage in the geopolitical rivalries among the powerful countries that produce the Covid-19 vaccines , with some openly talking about the need to donate unused vaccines ( to Africa ) before they expire . They have watched as the western media talks casually about what vaccines – Sino , Pfizer , Astra Zeneca , Sputnik – should be allowed in which sphere of influence . Who knew that vaccines would turn out to be tools for geo-strategic competition in which Africans are mere pawns ?
Only 2.5 per cent of Africa ’ s population has been fully vaccinated , according to Africa CDC . Consequently , Africans are shocked that the liberal rules of free trade have been kicked to the curb in favour of vaccine nationalism . In some instances , even those countries that had accepted payments from some countries ( chiefly from Africa ) refused to deliver the vaccines as the death rates began to rise at home . This shouldn ’ t come as a surprise , considering that , in the initial days of the pandemic , Americans were intercepting masks destined to other countries and redirecting them to the U . S to cover for their shortages .
These geo strategic games and their more sophisticated term of “ vaccine diplomacy ” have gone on even as Africans are clamouring that , unlike during the HIV pandemic , this time they have the money to buy the vaccines . The competition for control and influence has turned out to be more important to these countries than the money Africans were willing and ready to pay . A clip of Strive Masiyiwa – appointed in April 2020 along with Dr Donald Kaberuka , Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala , Tidjane Thiam and Trevor Manuel as AU Special Envoys to mobilise international economic support for the continental fight against COVID-19 – pleading with the western countries to do the right thing made the rounds on social media this September ,
“ As AVAT and the African Union we are not asking for donations . You can donate to us if you so wish , but our basis is not a donation . We want to buy vaccines . That means we want access to purchase . We call on those countries that have put restrictions on exports of vaccines to lift them . That will give us vaccines immediately ,” Masiyiwa pleaded .
Earlier in June , 2021 , Masiyiwa had made a similar plea to the western world to “ do something ” to prevent deaths : “ They told us that they had created this thing called COVAX . I met with them , with my colleagues , the African leadership , in January . And we said , okay what can you do for us ? They said we can deliver up to 20 %. We said but 20 % cannot deal with our problem . You yourself have said that the Europeans and the Americans have set a target of 70 % of the population , why should Africa have to deal with this permanently ? They said , well , we can only do 20 %, you have to go to the donors . We said okay , meet us half way . You do 30 %, we do 30 %, and set a target of 60 %. And they said okay . And we said can you give us a schedule of what you can deliver ? They told us 700 million doses . I have it in writing . We met in January , they said by February you will start to receive vaccines . Up to 27 % of your population [ will be vaccinated ] by December . I have it in writing . But we have only received less than 30 million of that projected target . Meanwhile , we could not buy any . So how can I say that science has been a miracle to my people who are dying ? We are going through the third wave now . Our people are dying . We have grandmothers that are dying . You can watch the Euro finals without a mask on . It ’ s happening now . But we can ’ t . And I cannot be here and not tell you we are not disappointed . So , I cannot sit here and say this was a moral failure . It was deliberate . Those with the resources pushed their way to the front of the queue .”
Undoubtedly there was a Masiyiwa of his time making similar pleas when the HIV / AIDs pandemic was claiming 20 million African lives in the 1990s . Consequently , the lesson that Africans should have learned more than two decades ago is that any solution to future pandemics that does not involve outsourcing African agency to external benevolence ( should ) run ( s ) through domestic manufacturing capacity .
Some countries like South Africa , Egypt , Senegal and Rwanda are spearheading this push , only twenty years too late – since the previous pandemic that claimed tens of millions of Africans . However , even when Africans create the pharmaceutical industries they need , they will remain vulnerable ; they will
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