African countries were among the last to receive COVID-19 vaccines, having been crowded out by vaccine-hoarding wealthier countries and denied access to essential technologies. Fortunately, this bitter experience appears to have catalyzed a much-needed policy shift toward localizing production.
NEW DELHI – Despite the relentless stream of bad news from around the world, there are still reasons for optimism. One notable example is the renewed push to localize pharmaceutical production in Africa, demonstrating how even catastrophic events like a pandemic can lead to positive, unforeseen outcomes.
The COVID-19 shock underscored the critical need to fund public-health systems and expand access to essential technologies and preventive and therapeutic drugs, and should have served as a wake-up call for policymakers and publics worldwide. But once the virus was brought under control, wealthy countries reverted to the policies and practices that had made the initial pandemic response so unequal.
No part of the world has suffered more from these extreme global inequalities than Africa. African countries were the last to receive COVID-19 vaccines, having been crowded out by vaccine-hoarding wealthier countries and denied access to the technologies necessary for domestic production. Although Africa accounts for 18% of the world’s population, the continent received only 3.3% of all administered vaccines by the end of 2021. By the end of 2022, its share had barely increased to 5.5%.
NEW DELHI – Despite the relentless stream of bad news from around the world, there are still reasons for optimism. One notable example is the renewed push to localize pharmaceutical production in Africa, demonstrating how even catastrophic events like a pandemic can lead to positive, unforeseen outcomes.
The COVID-19 shock underscored the critical need to fund public-health systems and expand access to essential technologies and preventive and therapeutic drugs, and should have served as a wake-up call for policymakers and publics worldwide. But once the virus was brought under control, wealthy countries reverted to the policies and practices that had made the initial pandemic response so unequal.
No part of the world has suffered more from these extreme global inequalities than Africa. African countries were the last to receive COVID-19 vaccines, having been crowded out by vaccine-hoarding wealthier countries and denied access to the technologies necessary for domestic production. Although Africa accounts for 18% of the world’s population, the continent received only 3.3% of all administered vaccines by the end of 2021. By the end of 2022, its share had barely increased to 5.5%.