WHO asks rich countries to surrender Covid-19 vaccines

More than 75 per cent of all Covid-19 vaccine doses are being delivered to only 10 countries, hindering global efforts to address the pandemic, the global health agency has said.

This presents a huge challenge, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), considering the poorest countries are administering fewer than five per cent of the global doses.

Experts predict that the virus will likely continue to rage in countries with low inoculation rates due to the fact that they lack the power and resources to increase global vaccination supply on their own.

“There is no diplomatic way to say it. A small group of countries that make and buy the majority of the world’s vaccines control the fate of the rest of the world,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Health summit

He was giving opening remarks at the 10-day 74th World Health Assembly summit, which began virtually on Monday. This summit is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland but is now virtual due to Covid-19 pandemic. ​

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Perez Castillo echoed the director’s sentiments. 

“The priority should be ensuring international vaccine distribution,” he said.

Already, some of the rich nations have committed to sharing their vaccine doses. Notable among them is the United States of America and France.

“The international public health emergency is not over. As part of a European initiative, France has committed to sharing at least 30 million vaccine doses by the end of 2021, and to additional financing for ACT-A,” the French president said while addressing the summit.

The WHO boss said no country should assume that it is out of the woods on Covid-19, regardless of its vaccination status, and that the pandemic is not over until transmission is controlled by every country.

Virus changing constantly

“On the current trend, the number of Covid-19 cases this year will overtake those of last year within the next three weeks, this virus is changing constantly, and future changes can drag us back to square one.

Opening statements from world leaders set the ball rolling as delegates embarked on dissecting Covid-19 recovery and prevention of future pandemics.

A potential revamp of the entire approach in dealing with future global health emergencies will also be under consideration as part of this week's talks.

The assembly is the supreme decision-making agency for the WHO and is attended by delegations from the WHO's 194 member states.

They collectively observed that despite the fact that the pandemic has had a tremendously devastating impact on all nations, it has been more severe in communities that are already disadvantaged in low income earning countries.

Poor countries still waiting

“Millions of people in wealthier nations have been vaccinated, while billions in poorer countries still wait. We all need to work together to correct this situation,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also the chairperson of the African Union (AU).

“None of us can claim to be safe unless we're all safe. We call on leaders to supports the initiative to raise the money needed for the vaccines. We must urgently increase vaccine production across the globe,” Mr Ramaphosa observed.

“Investing in national health systems and ensuring healthier, safer and fairer lives requires delivering integrated services for HIV, tuberculosis and child services,” he said.

Vaccine nationalism

According to the WHO, problems such as vaccine nationalism have sparked growing dissatisfaction among poorer countries that cannot pay high pharmaceutical prices, with stark disparities between developed and developing countries expected to continue hindering efforts to address the pandemic.

Dr Tedros praised health and care workers for their efforts towards ending the pandemic.

“Many have themselves become infected and while reporting is scant, we estimate that at least 115,000 health and care workers have paid the ultimate price in the service of others.

The WHO boss cautioned countries that are vaccinating children at the moment.

“Countries that vaccinate children now, do so at the risk of health workers and high risk groups in other countries. I understand that every government has a duty to its own people. In time, there will be enough supply for everyone, but for now, there is not,” he said.

The WHO believes that the number of vaccine doses administered globally so far would have been enough to cover all health workers and older people if they had been distributed equitably.

“I call on all manufacturers to give first right of refusal of production, or to commit 50 per cent of vaccine output to Covax this year,” Dr Tedros insisted.

Reform WHO

As some notable countries engage in what is now being seen as a pushback over WHO policies as some nations become wary of encroachment on their sovereignty, on Tuesday the findings of three separate independent panels that have been investigating different aspects of the global pandemic response will be discussed.

Their research suggests that countries and institutions had been woefully under-prepared to deal with the crisis, with a section of experts calling for a total overhaul of the global alarm system.

They are pushing for reformation of WHO to boost its independence, transparency and funding.

A draft resolution backed by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel urging members to strengthen the global health agency will also be on the table this week.  

The resolution could also give the WHO additional powers to investigate serious health threats without waiting for an invitation from the member state in question, a motion backed by the two leaders.   

The main roles of the WHA include determining the direction the organisation wishes to pursue, appoint the director-general, and discuss the budget.

[email protected]