The South African president on Tuesday called at the Davos World Forum for an end to “vaccine nationalism,” stating that rich nations must share their supplies of coronavirus vaccine with poor nations.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who also serves as the rotating president of the African Union, mentioned the task that this group has carried out to deliver vaccines to African nations given the devastating impact that the disease has had on the continent.
“We are extremely concerned about the problem of nationalism in vaccines which, if not addressed, will impede the recovery of all countries,” Ramaphosa said.
“The end of the pandemic around the world will require greater collaboration in the distribution of vaccines to ensure that no country is left behind in that effort,” he added.
He denounced that some countries are hoarding more doses than they need.
“The rich countries of the world are hoarding these vaccines and we say to them ‘Share the extra vaccines that you have requested and that you are accumulating.’ There is no need for a country of 40 million people to hold onto 120 million or 160 million vaccines, when the rest of the world needs them, ”he declared.
The African Union commission for vaccines has purchased 270 million doses directly from manufacturing companies in addition to the 600 million doses purchased from the global entity COVAX, the president said.
South Africa has purchased more than 20 million doses directly from manufacturing companies, Ramaphosa said. It is about to acquire another 6 million through COVAX, with which it would need 14 million to meet its goal of vaccinating 67% of its population of 60 million inhabitants by the end of this year.
Regarding the economic development of Africa, Ramaphosa highlighted the creation of the African Free Trade Area as a notable achievement.
The zone, which seeks to create a common market in order to boost economic development, took effect on January 1.
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