Link to Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/11/when-will-covid19-vaccinations-start-african-countries
Analysis: As the United Kingdom starts rolling out the world’s first approved coronavirus vaccine this week and other clinical trials showing promise, the focus has swiftly shifted towards the distribution of doses worldwide and which countries will get them first.
On Thursday, Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director John Nkengasong warned, “it will be extremely terrible to see” wealthy nations obtaining vaccines and African countries missing out, as he called for an extraordinary United Nations Session to discuss this “moral issue” and avoid a “North-South distrust in respect to vaccines, which is a common good”.
Expressing concern over what is branded as the continent’s “largest ever immunization drive”, the World Health Organization has said the African region has an average score of 33 percent readiness for a COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, well below the desired 80 percent.
Meanwhile, Nkengasong has stressed the necessity of being realistic in terms of the immunization campaign due to challenges on how vaccines would be delivered across the continent, adding that it is unlikely that this will happen before the middle of 2021.
According to Catherine Kyobutungi, epidemiologist and executive director of the African Population and Health Research Center, a big challenge regarding access to vaccines is “a lack of global solidarity”.
As the world takes a step forward African countries are going to be left behind. Limited access to the COVID-19 vaccine could set African countries even further back economically. This will be due to continued shutdowns and additional lockdowns. Although a lack of overall funding is daunting, it’s Africa’s average score of readiness at a measly 33 percent that is truly worrying. This is because, even if African countries acquire the vaccine, they won’t be able to effectively utilize it. According to Kyobutungi, a big challenge regarding access to the vaccine is a lack of global solidarity. To many degrees this sentiment is true. As some have already condemned wealthy countries for hoarding vaccine doses.
African countries inability to gain access to a much needed vaccine exemplify realist theories of human nature and the causes of states behaviors. Realists believe that all human nature is inherently selfish, and that all states serve only their own self interests and for the sake of security. Furthermore realists believe that states only act in their national interest. If these facts aren’t true then states wouldn’t be hoarding vaccine doses solely for the use of their citizens. Instead they would be distributing it in way that allows everyone equal access. Because having ample and ready access to the COVID-19 vaccine is in a state’s national interest, it’s not surprising that states are displaying this behavior.