Limited logistical support affects Covid-19 vaccination in Africa –WHO

By Newsroom

3^rd Feb 2022

The lack of logistical support is stopping many African countries from carrying out COVID-19 vaccination despite the availability of vaccines on the continent, says the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the WHO Africa region office, the African continent has so far received more than 587 million vaccine doses; 58 percent through the COVAX Facility, 36 percent from bilateral deals, and 6 percent through the Africa Vaccines Acquisition Trust (AVAT) of the African Union.

Last month 96 million doses were shipped to Africa, which is more than double that shipped six months ago. However, despite such vaccine stocks, countries are still not vaccinating. This was revealed today during a virtual press conference.

The UN health agency is worried that operational challenges such as logistics that are hindering the use of the vaccine might make it impossible for the continent to meet the WHO set a target of having 70 percent vaccinated by mid this year. So far, only 11 percent of the people on the continent are vaccinated.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa says the increase in the supply of vaccines has cast a spotlight on the need for countries to rapidly ramp up vaccine rollout.

Currently, 6 million people are vaccinated on average every week in Africa, and this number needs to increase to 36 million to reach the 70% target agreed globally.

Data reported to WHO from 40 countries finds that there is a US$ 1.29 billion gap in funding for operational costs.

To tackle the problem, WHO has partnered with UNICEF and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to urgently fix operational challenges including supporting health workers so as to speed up vaccine delivery.

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