Remarks by WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti
Good morning and good afternoon, bonjour, bom dia, to all the journalists joining this press conference on the COVID-19 situation in Africa and scaling-up the rollout of vaccines.
I am very pleased to be joined by Dr Nicholas Crisp, the Deputy Director-General of National Health Insurance at the Department of Health in South Africa, welcome Dr Crisp, and Dr Assan Abdoul Nasser, the Director of Immunizations at the Ministry of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs in Niger, bonjour and bienvenue Dr Abdoul Nasser. They will both speak about the massive efforts that countries are making to ramp-up the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
There have now been almost eight million cases and 196,000 lives lost to COVID-19 in Africa.
Although Africa’s third wave peaked in July, the decline in new cases is at a glacial pace – far slower than in previous waves. More than 214,000 new cases were reported in the past week.
Twenty-four out of 54 African countries – so nearly half – are still reporting high or fast-rising case numbers. The epicentre is a moving target, shifting from one sub-region to the next. Cases are rising in West, Central and East Africa.
In this third wave, every hour, 26 Africans die of COVID-19. The pandemic is still raging, and we must not let our guard down. As long as vaccination rates are low, severe illness and deaths risk staying high.
Over 143 million vaccine doses have been received in Africa and 39 million people – less than 3% of Africa’s population – are fully vaccinated. That compares to more than 50% in the European Union and the United States.
Equally concerning is the continuing inequity in the distribution of doses – Africa accounts for just 2% of the over five billion doses given globally. This percentage, I’m afraid, hasn’t shifted in months.
It is encouraging though that in the past month, almost 21 million doses have arrived on the continent through COVAX – that’s equal to the entire four previous months.
As WHO, we are working tirelessly to support countries to hit the global target of fully vaccinating 10% of their populations by the end of September.
We have just one month to go and this must concentrate our minds in Africa and minds globally.
Already, nine African countries have reached this target – so that’s very encouraging. Among those are island nations, such as Seychelles and Cabo Verde, countries that have rolled out vaccines strongly from the start such as Morocco, and countries where the uptake is rapidly increasing, like South Africa.
Many of these countries are in the upper-middle or high-income brackets and have procured vaccines directly from manufacturers as well as receiving various vaccine supplies. For lower-income countries that are relying mainly on donations, the situation is more dire.
If current trends hold, 42 of Africa’s 54 countries – nearly 80% – are set to miss the September target, I’m afraid.
Three more countries – Equatorial Guinea, Comoros, and Sao Tome and Principe – will meet the target at the current pace. I think a couple of other countries, like Senegal, Namibia and Botswana, if they speed-up they too can reach it.
I do commend the commitment of national and local authorities, communities and partners working to expand the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines across the continent.
With concerns about variants and political pressures driving the introduction of booster shots and countries with high vaccination rates expanding their rollouts to reach to lower-risk groups, our hope for global vaccine equity is once again being challenged.
At the same time, African countries must also zero in and drive forward precise plans to rapidly vaccinate the millions of vulnerable people that still face a grave threat.
Several countries are moving to vaccinate populations above 18 years and using retired nurses and nursing students as well as partnering with the private sector to reach targeted populations. Vaccination points are also being expanded for people in hard-to-reach areas.
I encourage more countries to use microplanning to guide vaccinators on where and when to provide vaccination services and to inform communities of how they can access these vaccines.
Overall, it is clear that dose-sharing arrangements need to continue to be stepped-up. Longer-term, African countries are putting in place systems and hubs to produce vaccines locally, but to fast track the global recovery from this pandemic international solidarity remains key.
We must also remember that at the end it is people who are going to decide they are going to be vaccinated, so paying attention to informing and encouraging the community, supporting them to get vaccinated is also very important.
I look forward very much to our conversation today, I welcome our two panellists again, and thank you for having joined us.