19 Jan 2021

 It is deeply concerning that Africa would be the last to receive enough vaccine coverage,  Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation, Dr Lemogang Kwape has said. 

 Speaking on behalf of Africa region member states at the ongoing 148th session of WHO, he noted that an independent panel for pandemic preparedness and response had reported great inequalities in COVID-19 vaccines availability and rollout among and between nations.

 “We therefore call for urget golobal solidarity to prioritise investment in affordable and safe COVID-19 vaccines and equitable allocation based on the principle of fairness for public health impact,” he said.

 Dr Kwape also expressed concern about disruptions in global supply chains particularly during the initial phase of the COVID-19 crisis, which significantly affected the region’s response.

  He however expressed the confidence that WHO secretariat, in partnership with other UN agencies and philanthropic organisations would continues to ensure equitable allocation of ciritcal items.

   Among them he mentioned personal protective equipment comprising medical masks, respirators, oxygen concentrators, pulse oximeters, ventilators as well as biodedical items for clinical care  particularly to low and middle income countries.  

   Dr Kwape expressed appreciation for the organisation’s ambitious targets for the distribution of  new COVID-19 tools including provision of two billion doses of vaccine to all countries by the end of 2021.

 He said 245 million treatment courses and 500 million diagnostic tests to low and middle income countries would be distributed by mid-2021.

  Minister Kwape also said Africa appreciated WHO’s  support to assess member states’ readiness to deploy new COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics effectively and efficiently as they become available.

“Africa Region commits to working with the secretariat and partners to assure readiness for vaccine introduction,” he said

Dr Kwape commended WHO on the global collaborative efforts on the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT Accelerator)saying “the measure was a key initiative to promote equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, diagnostics and other medical products”.

The region was also appreciative of the technical and operational support missions and expansion of hospital bed capacity, infection prevention and control and SARS-COV-2 laboratory testing capacity, he said.

Dr Kwape said the region had utilised availed tools including the COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, Partners Platforms and the various technical guiding documents.

Regarding research and development, Dr Kwape noted that the WHO secretariat supported several scientific studies on new diagnostics.

He emphasised the need for WHO to continue to ensure representation of public health researchers and scientists from the region as it would assist in sharing expertise and forging networks and partnerships. Ends