Only 2 African countries have reached the 40% COVID-19 vaccination target - WHO

GENEVA, Switzerland

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that only two African countries have reached COVID-19 vaccination target.

Speaking during the COVID-19 briefing on vaccine equity, WHO’s Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom said, WHO’s global targets are to support every country to vaccinate at least 40 percent of its population by the end of this year, and 70 percent of the world’s population by mid next year.

“So far, just two countries in Africa have reached the 40 percent target, the lowest of any region,” Dr. Tedros said.

“More than 5.7 billion doses have been administered globally, but only two percent of those have been administered in Africa,” he added.

So far, COVAX has shipped more than 260 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to 141 countries.

“But as you know, COVAX has also faced several challenges, with manufacturers prioritizing bilateral deals and many high-income countries tying up the global supply of vaccines,” he said.

Last year, the African Union established the African COVID-19 Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, or AVAT, as a compliment to COVAX to purchase vaccines for AU Member States.