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EUR 600 million to help Africa be vaccinated. This is the commitment made by international donors who promise this funding to Aspen, the South African pharmaceutical giant. They want to support the revival of the production of vaccines against Covid-19 in Africa, where only 1% of the population is vaccinated.
Africa is the least talented continent when it comes to vaccines. While a third aggressive wave of Covid-19 is currently raging there, its population has very little immunity. To achieve this, vaccination should be accelerated, which is impossible without local vaccine production. The continent is mainly dependent on aid for deliveries from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the African Union (AU).
This is the reason why the World Bank’s Development Institute has just announced a co-financing with its French, German and American counterparts for a total of EUR 600 million to allow Aspen to develop its vaccine for African countries.
Temporary revocation of vaccine patents?
Aspen is based in South Africa and already imports the components of the American Johnson & Johnson vaccine and packs them on site. The pharmaceutical giant intends to go further and work for a temporary revocation of patents on vaccines against Covid-19, so that each country can produce cheaper generic versions.
African governments and the WHO regularly call on rich countries for more solidarity. Western countries have been criticized for not fulfilling their promise to deliver one billion doses to the poorest states.
►Read also: in the face of a reduction in vaccinations in Africa, WHO demands “international solidarity”
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