The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said only five African countries are expected to hit the target of fully vaccinating 40% of their people by year-end unless efforts to accelerate the inoculation rate are taken.
Three African countries, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Morocco have already met the target that was set in May by the World Health Assembly. Two more countries, Tunisia and Cabo Verde are also likely to hit the target at the current pace.
According to the WHO, just 6% of Africa’s population, or 77 million people, has been fully vaccinated so far.
The statement comes as the African region grapples to meet the rising demand for essential vaccination commodities, such as syringes.
“Early next year, COVID-19 vaccines will start pouring into Africa, but a scarcity of syringes could paralyze progress,” Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa warned.
UNICEF has reported an imminent shortfall of up to 2.2 billion auto-disable syringes for COVID-19 vaccination and routine immunization in 2022.
Moeti added that syringe production both globally and locally must be increased as countless African lives depend on it.
The WHO Africa said about 50 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have reached African countries this month, almost double as compared to last month.
Earlier this week, it was revealed the African Union (AU) is seeking to buy up to 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna in an arrangement brokered in part by the United States government, which had decided to defer delivery of some doses to facilitate the deal.
The AU’s doses will be delivered over the coming months, with 15 million arriving before the end of the year, 35 million in the first quarter of 2022, and up to 60 million in the second quarter.
African countries reported about 8.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 217,000 deaths as of Thursday.
