It’s time for a bold new plan to end the vaccine injustice

Today African leaders are calling for a special vaccines summit at the time of the United Nations General Assembly.

Africa has been losing out for too long on the supply of vaccines. A bold new plan is now urgently needed to vaccinate the world against Covid-19

While the miracle of the Covid-19 vaccine has been made available to 70 per cent of adults in Europe and America, only 2 per cent of African adults are, as yet, fully immunised.

The promise of the G7 club of rich nations that the whole world will be fully vaccinated by next year is not being honoured.

African leaders have had to set up their own bulk purchasing facility, the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (Avat) and to the credit of national leaders and the African Union, they have negotiated a deal for single-shot vaccines from Johnson & Johnson that will mean 200 million more can be vaccinated over the coming months.

And through persistence around the negotiating table, 20 million vaccines that the Aspen South Africa factory sent from Africa to Europe are now being replaced with 20 million from Europe.

Forced to back down on raiding Africa for vaccines, Europe has now promised that by the end of this year, they will add to that with a total of 200 million vaccines — to be sent through the international bulk-purchasing agency Covax.

But we need a total of nearly 1 billion vaccines over the coming year to cover the adult population of Africa, and with disease rising and lives being lost, we have to move even more quickly. We need 200 million extra vaccines by December alone.

But according to figures brought together by the expert research agency Airfinity, with help from the World Health Organisation and from manufacturers, 200 million vaccines are currently being hoarded in American and European warehouses and not being used. Yet these vaccines could quadruple the number of vaccinated Africans.

Between them, the US, Europe, UK and Canada have used their preferential options to stockpile vaccines, and by the end of this month there will be 300 million spare doses. By the end of October, the figure will be even higher at 500 million, and by year-end 1 billion.

And so, we are joining the call on US President Joe Biden and his fellow G7 leaders to hold an emergency summit to plan a fair allocation of available vaccines. Our plan is for an immediate catch up, with a view to vaccinating all adults in Africa within months, not years.

No longer can the West justify hoarding vaccines and building up reserves, fearing interruptions in supply. The situation has changed as production rises from 1 billion a month in April to 1.5 billion now, and 2 billion by January. Now the rich countries can release their unused stock without fear of being unable to replenish their supplies.

No longer can Covax be denied the vaccines they need. They have the money to buy the vaccines; what Western leaders must do is release their unused stock to allow Covax to transfer vaccines into Africa and Asia. And that 1 billion stockpile in December takes into account any decisions America or Europe makes about boosters and vaccinations for the over-12s. If these decisions were delayed, even more vaccines would be available immediately, and if China joined the coordinated push to vaccinate the world, we could move even more quickly.

The summit should meet this month in the margins of the UN General Assembly and be chaired by President Biden. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who attended the June G7 in Cornwall in the UK, should be invited to join as should Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO.

This summit should finally call an end to the vaccine-rich, vaccine-poor divide. It's time to end the injustice of a world where one half of the world is vaccinated and safe, as the other half is unprotected and at risk of dying from waves of Covid. No one is safe anywhere until everyone is safe everywhere, and everyone will live in fear until no one lives in fear.

Strive Masiyiwa is founder and executive chairman of Econet Group. He currently serves as AU special envoy for Vaccine Acquisition. Mr Brown is UN special Envoy for Global Education and former Prime Minister of the UK