Hurry up for vaccines!

Botswana and other African countries are at the back of the line in the wait for COVID-19 vaccines, thanks effectively to the “global moral failure” described so astutely on Monday by WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The picture painted at WHO’s executive board on Monday was unsettling and yet at the same time, in line with how Africa and Africans have generally been treated by the developed world since time immemorial.

Of the 40 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that have been administered thus far, 95% have been in just 10 countries comprising the world’s richest. Some countries in the developed world, which enjoy bilateral deals with manufacturers, have even pre-ordered enough doses to vaccinate their entire populations twice over, while Africa has just received 25 doses in total. Africa’s hopes lie with the African Union and WHO’s Covax arrangement which has deals in place with manufacturers in countries such as India. However, even with these in place, countries such as Botswana are likely to receive their first vaccines towards the end of the year, effectively being the last to receive the life-saving medication.The situation is however not as black and white. The vaccines currently being enjoyed by the top 10 are expensive as well as difficult to transport and store, while many African countries are under-prepared to deliver broad administration programmes due to legal, technical and systemic shortcomings.

For instance, even if WHO secures the two billion doses it expects in the next few months, it is not every African country ready to ratify the legal disclaimers and indemnity required to receive the vaccine and not every country has reliable medical regulatory capacity to test the vaccines for themselves.

Fewer still have demonstrated strong distribution capacity and even fewer have the resources for the totality effort required to get injections in arms. In this regard, Botswana is amongst the few shining lights on the continent, being of comparatively better means than other countries.

While budget resources are strained at the moment, Botswana has both access to reserves and the credit rating required for concessional loans from local and international financiers.

The local pension fund sector alone has about P100 billion in largely liquid assets that could team up with government in a Public Private Partnership to provide doses for the entire population at the prices countries such as the US are receiving them now. What we need to see as the public is greater urgency from government to procure vaccines as well as more transparency and engagement on this critical matter. Self-protection is important and Batswana for the most part have adhered to all the difficult and novel protocols COVID-19 has required of us.

But as can be clearly seen globally, there is only so much a society can do to protect itself, before the virus simply overwhelms all protocols and requires that treatment options come to play. No doubt moves are happening behind the scenes, but government needs to include this in its messaging and involve the private sector as well as Batswana in exactly what is being done to procure these life-saving vaccines and push us further up the queue.