COVID-19 vaccination drive in Africa hampered by shortages, financing issues - WHO

According to the organization, vaccine shipments to the continent through the COVAX program stopped after the Serum Institute of India started keeping doses for the domestic market only. Africa is said to have received only 18.2 million doses, about a quarter of the 66 million that it expected.

"While limited supplies of doses are hampering the large-scale rollout of vaccines, funding for operational costs is also a critical barrier. Eight countries have used up all their vaccines, but over 20 countries have administered less than 50% of their doses," the office said in a statement, listing other delaying factors, such as a shortage of vaccinators, weak communications, and sub-optimal training.

The statement added that while COVAX, the Gavi vaccine alliance, the World Bank and other donors are ready to finance vaccination in Africa, decent financial planning is important for unlocking these funds.

"Only a handful of African countries have made good use of the COVID-19 Vaccine Introduction and Deployment Costing Tool produced by the COVAX Facility, which aims to help countries determine their funding needs. The tool is the first step to a well-structured budget, offering a quick yet comprehensive estimate of incremental costs," the statement read.

So far, 49 African countries have received a total of over 40.7 million doses from various sources. Since the beginning of vaccination on the continent, 48 countries have administered more than 24.6 million doses, but only 5.6 million people have been fully vaccinated to date.