Just five African countries set to hit year-end Covid vaccination targets

Just five African countries are expected to hit a year-end goal of fully vaccinating 40 per cent of their population, according to the World Health Organisation.

Morocco, Seychelles, and Mauritius are already there, while Tunisia and Cabo Verde are expected to reach the goal by the end of December.

Just 77 million Africans are fully vaccinated – about 6 per cent of the continent’s population. Along with shortages in vaccines, African countries are reporting problems with procuring enough syringes.

"No one is safe until everyone is safe," said Colm Brophy, Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid, on the phone to The Irish Times during a trip to Uganda, where Ireland has donated 335,000 vaccines. "Every country in a situation where they can be a donor should be a donor."

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In September, Ireland said it will donate at least one million vaccines to developing countries through the Covax programme.

At the same time, Brophy said, Ireland is supporting the World Health Organisation. "You not only have to have vaccines, but you have to ensure that the country has the support in cases in terms of the logistics of delivering the vaccines," he said.

Uganda, like much of Africa, is battling vaccine hesitancy and distribution problems, but president Yoweri Museveni said he wants 12 million people vaccinated by the end of the year.

“Walk to the health centres or be carried there ... go by motorcycle taxi, go by bicycle or go by vehicle and be immunised,” he told citizens last week, during his first national address since July.

Less than 3 million vaccines have been given out in Uganda, and roughly 348,000 people are fully vaccinated, while about 4.7 million vaccines are currently available, Museveni said.

So far, there have been 126,000 recorded Covid -19 cases in Uganda and 3,215 deaths.

Brophy said he witnessed vaccination campaigns "in full swing" in capital Kampala. "The Ugandan government have put a lot of effort into making sure that they have a structure in place . . . I think you'll find like many countries, they will be using every vaccine they have and they'll be looking for more." He said he wasn't worried about vaccines going to waste. Last week, the president said local government officials who let vaccines expire unused would be fired.

Curfew

Uganda has had a 7pm curfew in place for most of the pandemic. Last week, its president said bars and entertainment venues will only reopen once 4.8 million people, of a population of roughly 44 million, are vaccinated.

Schools are now expected to open in January, but millions of children have not had any education in nearly two years while many teachers have reportedly switched profession out of desperation to survive.

The Ugandan leadership has been accused of using the pandemic as an excuse to crack down on opposition, including during the disputed election last January which saw Museveni – who has been in power since 1986 – win another term as president.

In November 2020, dozens of protesters were shot dead by security forces after opposition leader Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, was arrested and accused of spreading Covid-19.

“There are, I think, all types of stories always available about any country,” Brophy said when asked about it. “But what I’ve always encountered here is incredibly hard working both local and national officials on the ground who have been absolutely flat out and that’s everybody from the nurses and doctors involved in the direct vaccine programme to the administrators.”

There have been 8.5 million Covid-19 cases recorded across Africa and 218,414 deaths so far. “The thing which I’m very impressed with here in Uganda is the public health awareness measures. I mean, everybody wears a mask, everybody wears the mask outdoors as well as indoors,” said Brophy.

In terms of how Africa is faring more broadly, Brophy said “it is very difficult to make any predictions.”

“I think the pandemic has proven over the last 18 months [that] it likes to make people into fools,” he said, but “I am optimistic in terms of what I’m seeing and hearing in terms of Africa’s response.”