Vaccines in Africa, crocodile tears for Draghi and Merkel, regrets delay but still on patent sharing

After opposing the liberalization of patents and technologies to produce vaccines against Covidor did not do anything concrete in its favourAnd Mario Draghi and Angela Merkel their screams Crocodile Tears On the status of the vaccination program in Africa. Merkel has always been against it For what kind of “infiltration” of pharmaceutical companies, including German BioNtech. Draghi, after initially welcoming the American proposal from last May, quickly joined the line Berlin and Brussels. The two leaders opened the G20 Conference today “Pact with Africa” Aiming at sustainable growth and development in 12 countries Africans (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia) through reform programs and support measures.

“In many advanced economies, the epidemic is increasingly under control, but unfortunately this is not the case in the world’s poorest countries. There have been some Huge disparities In terms of getting vaccinations. The global recovery is marked by the same disparities. We must do more – much more – to help the countries most in need. “In high-income countries, nearly 60% of the population received at least one dose, while in low-income countries this figure is only 1.4%,” said Mario Draghi via a video link. For vaccines that are safe and accessible to G20 countries through initiatives such as Kovacs facility and operating unit Procurement of vaccines for Africa, called the African Vaccine Availability Task Force (Avatt). So far, Covax has shipped almost all over the world 210 million vaccines (Compared to a target of at least one billion doses and a requirement of nearly two billion ampoules, so). distribution 400 million vaccines across Africa By Avatt,” the prime minister added. Patent liberalization does not mean the immediate availability of additional vaccines in Africa, but according to detailed studies, the time required to convert industrial facilities on site is relatively short, on the order of a few months.

While in Europe, Germany and Italy the third dose is discussed, In low-income countries only 1.4% of the population Received the first injection. As mentioned several times beforeWorld Health Organization Serious delay for everyone Because it facilitates the birth of new variables Then it spreads everywhere. Hence the WHO’s call to prioritize shipping vials to low-income countries, rather than targeting them for a third vaccination in rich countries. But it does not seem that there is no such decision in sight Brussels, Rome or Berlin. As written by the official medical journal scalpel, Kovacs (The Immunization Aid Program for Poor Countries) was born as a great idea but it has changed In the worst nightmares.

On the stricter economic level, Draghi stated that “this is the goal of the G20 joint framework Facilitate debt restructuring In countries with excessive debt, so comprehensive and sustainable. Representing the countries of the compact with Africa a A beacon of hope in these dark times. During a pandemic, your resilience to adverse shocks has increased, thanks to your investments in environmental and digital transformation. Your experience teaches us that courageous, transformative and comprehensive reforms lead to results.” The Prime Minister continued: “The G20 has also introduced a set of economic measures to To help developing countries deal with the slowdown. We have supported the IMF’s allocation of new Special Drawing Rights totaling $650 billion, which will increase reserves and aid global recovery. Of these resources, $33 billion will go to African countries and we are working to increase this share even further. We have accelerated the refinancing of Ida-20, the World Bank’s fund for the world’s poorest countries.”