'Africa's current vaccine stocks a drop in the bucket'

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Africa may have received 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, but that is still just a “drop in the bucket” for the continent, a top UN official said on Wednesday.

“Ten million doses of vaccines had reached the continent as of last Friday. But it is a drop in the bucket considering the 600 million doses that are needed,” said Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

The continent can no longer be regarded as left out, given that an increasing number of African countries are receiving vaccines, but much remains to be done in terms of a successful immunization plan, she told participants of the 53rd Session of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

Africa plans to vaccinate 60% of its 1.3 billion population by 2021.

“Africa needs to do more, better, and quicker,” Songwe stressed.

“We are going to see a contraction in the GDP [gross domestic product],” she said, adding that GDP growth in the continent contracted from $46 billion to $38 billion.

As a result, government debt surpassed the 60% mark, and “… terms of trade and FDI [foreign direct investment] flows deteriorated in Africa as the virus spread.”

Songwe emphasized the need for Africa – where the COVID-19 caseload is now over 4 million – to pursue a diversification strategy and make use of more options to stimulate growth.