DAKAR/LYON (Reuters) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday the EU would increase spending to boost vaccinations in African states which are lagging behind despite having received COVID-19 vaccine supplies.
African nations have begun their vaccine rollouts much later than wealthier states which secured the limited doses initially available from late 2020.
But in recent months supplies have increased exponentially, and many states are facing difficulties in absorbing them, with some countries, such as Congo and Burundi, having used less than 20% of available doses, according to figures from Gavi, a nonprofit global vaccine alliance.
“We have to make efforts to accelerate vaccinations, especially in African countries where vaccination rates are the lowest,” von der Leyen said at a conference in Dakar, Senegal.
She said the EU would spend 125 million euros ($143 million) to help countries train medical staff and administer doses, in addition to 300 million euros already committed for this purpose by the EU and its states.
An EU official said the EU wanted now to shift its message to Africa “from vaccines to vaccination.”
However, von der Leyen said the EU will keep sending doses to Africa, with the aim of delivering 450 million vaccines by the summer, three times higher than the volume already shared.
Gavi, which co-runs the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccine-sharing programme COVAX, said the usage rate of COVID-19 shots in the 91 poorest nations it supports was 67%.
But some African countries were lagging much behind. Zambia, Chad, Madagascar, Djibouti, Somalia, Burkina Faso and Uganda had used only about one-third of doses that they received, Gavi said, citing data updated to late January.
Only about 10% of Africans have been immunised against COVID-19 so far.
EU diplomats said that vaccines’ short shelf life, limited storage facilities, poor healthcare infrastructure and vaccine hesitancy were among the main reasons that hampered vaccination in Africa.
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(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio and Edward McAllister; Editing by Richard Chang)
