The African Union's special envoy for vaccine procurement got angry last Thursday against the European Union, which he accuses of being the cause of the lack of vaccines in Africa.
He definitely doesn't have the tongue in his pocket. African Union Special Envoy for vaccine procurement, Strive Masiyiwa had already castigated, last May, the Serum Institute of India (SII), the Indian laboratory that manufactures vaccines against Covid-19. Calling himself "angry", the Zimbabwean businessman recalled after the delay in vaccine deliveries that he had advised the AU not to "do business with these guys", that 'he considered "unreliable". It is time, it is the European Union which drew the wrath of the special envoy.
Strive Masiyiwa indeed considered that the European Union (EU), and more generally the international Covax program in which the EU participates, to be the cause of the shortage of vaccines on the continent. On Thursday, the Zimbabwean billionaire said that "it became quite clear in December that the hope that we all, as a global community, would buy vaccines together through Covax has not been met, in particular by the rich and powerful nations ”.
If this exit does not surprise anyone, the Zimbabwean especially criticizes the European Union and Covx for having made promises that they could not keep. "The situation could have been very different if we had known as early as December that this aid would not arrive and that we had to fend for ourselves", simply explained Masiyiwa for whom the consequence of these promises was disastrous: " Many countries stood idly by saying that the vaccines were coming… As Africans, we are disappointed ”.
In laboratories, Europe has been a priority
Angry and disappointed, the AU's special envoy for vaccine purchases describes the reasons for his anger: 400 million doses have been ordered by Africa, which… has not yet received them. In all, the continent was satisfied with 61 million doses for 1,2 billion inhabitants. The fault, according to Masiyiwa, of the Europeans who were given priority. “When we talk to their manufacturers, they tell us that they have reached their maximum to meet the needs of Europe, and that we must turn to India,” laments the businessman, who does not is not on very good terms with the Indian laboratory.
We are far, therefore, from the 700 million doses promised by Covax partners. The initiative has, for the time being, only allowed to receive 50 million doses. And while in Europe, life resumes its course, Africa must contend with the lack of vaccines.
But Strive Masiyiwa's anger also finds its origins in another European decision. When the EU decided to launch its health passport, it decided not to recognize vaccinations by Covishield, a derivative of the AstraZeneca vaccine that is largely part of the Covax initiative. Un double talk that does not get through. African travelers are indeed penalized, and the African Union is forced to wait for the EU to review its copy.