The Global COVID-19 Summit must tackle the demand gap
6/5/2022: Low-income countries remain only 12% vaccinated, well behind the 70% target. Yet demand for vaccines — especially in African countries - is waning. These are just some of challenges for the second Global COVID-19 Summit of wealthy countries on May 12.
Source: Devex
Inequality stalks high Covid death rate in Latin America
27/4/2022: With only 8.4% of the world’s population, the Latin America and Caribbean region has endured 28% of total global deaths due to COVID-19. A report by Amnesty International attributes this outcome to high inequality and low public spending on health.
Source: Amnesty International
African children protected by first malaria vaccine
21/4/2022: More than 1 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have received one or more doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine in a pilot programme. If widely deployed, the vaccine could save the lives of an additional 40,000 to 80,000 African children each year.
Source: World Health Organization
Covid-19 human rights failures persist on second anniversary
11/3/2022: Safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines have existed for over a year yet billions of people remain unprotected without a single dose. Governments should redouble efforts to uphold their legal obligation to ensure the highest attainable standard of health for people everywhere.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Germany first to contribute ˜fair share” for global vaccine equity
1/3/2022: With a donation of $1.22 billion to the ACT-Accelerator Germany has become the first country to respond to the UN appeal to 55 countries to contribute a "fair share" towards ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: UN News
Africa on track to control pandemic this year
10/2/2022: The WHO's Regional Director for Africa has said that countries have got smarter faster and better at responding to Covid-19. The most recent wave of the virus has been the shortest and has not led to an increase in hospitalizations and deaths.
Source: UN News
A step toward Africa’s own Covid-19 vaccine
16/2/2022: A Cape Town company claims it has made a vaccine that successfully mimics Moderna's messenger RNA vaccine. This copycat will still need to undergo clinical trials but the effort could yield Africa's first Covid-19 vaccine.
Source: Inter Press Service
World leaders call for $23 billion to end pandemic this year
9/2/2022: The UN is calling for a fair share of contributions from more than 50 rich countries to fund the ACT-Accelerator treatments and vaccines. Only a paltry 0.4 per cent of COVID-19 tests administered globally have been conducted in low-income countries.
Source: UN News
Vaccinating the world depends on elusive coordination
21/2/2022: People in advanced economies are not safe until the poorest countries are protected from Covid-19. With barely 1 per cent of available vaccines reaching low-income countries the world has a coordination problem.
Source: East Asia Forum
Malaria vaccine receives WHO seal of approval
6/10/2021: The World Health Organization has recommended that RTS,S/AS01, a vaccine developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, should be widely given to African children. How soon and to what scale countries can begin to roll out the vaccines will remain in question until decisions are made around funding.
Source: Devex