By Jessica Mandanda

“The longer vaccine inequity persists, the more the virus will keep circulating and changing, the longer the social and economic disruption will continue, and the higher the chances that more variants will emerge that render vaccines less effective.” Strive Masiyiwa, AU Special Envoy for COVID-19

Apartheid was historically defined as a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race. Other forms of apartheid include discrimination of gender. 

The word apartheid has also been used to describe the widening gap between the rich and poor, in this case, the word apartheid has been used to describe the status of vaccine distribution globally, with wealthy countries recording almost if not over 50% of their population having received full doses of a vaccine whereas poorer countries, primarily the entire continent of Africa recording less than 5% per country, with only nearly 5 countries recording almost 10% in comparison; thus apartheid on the grounds of race, wealth and economic progression.

On 14th September 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that more than 5.7 billion doses have been administered globally, but only 2% of those have been administered in Africa. This is 16 days before the urgent global target of vaccinating 10% of the most vulnerable populations in each country.

Furthermore, Dr. Ghebreyesus, stated ‘Of the 5.7 billion vaccines administered globally more than 80 % have been used by high and upper-middle-income nations although they don’t count for half the world population’. The acquisition by the high and upper-middle-income countries of 80 % of the vaccines will not produce positive results instead there is a higher possibility of the virus making a comeback. 

Inequality happens where demand outplays supply leaving some individuals with little to none and other individuals with more than they need. The introduction of the COVID-19 vaccines saw high and upper-middle-income countries standing first in line to acquire the vaccines in the bulk of their various populations while lower-income countries such as Malawi waited for leftovers to be donated.

 According to the study done Duke Health Innovation Centre report stated that as of January 29, 2021, showed the amount that these nations have purchased enough to vaccinate their population twice or thrice. North America has purchased enough vaccines to vaccinate 229 % of their population while Europe has bought enough vaccines to vaccinate 148 % of their population.  

There are several areas that must be interrogated to answer the question of why this is the situation of Africa in the global vaccine distribution. 

First, we need to interrogate what the purpose of the excess vaccines is whether Europe and the USA will hold on to them until they expire, or perhaps donate the excess to countries that urgently need them such as Malawi and other countries in Africa.

Second, we must question why countries such as Malawi are failing to acquire the necessary amount of vaccines to cater to the country’s population. I refer to recent questions from young Malawians on social media questioning the Malawian Government’ consistent position saying they simply do not have the necessary funding to afford the vaccines, however, were seen purchasing new vehicles to accommodate delegates who were in the country for the 41st Ordinary SADC Heads of State Summit. Questions that demanded accountability from the nation’s leaders on where their priorities lie.

Third, considering the justification provided by the Malawian Government is that Malawi can simply not afford the vaccines, is it therefore plausible for the SADC Heads of State to push for regional integration when the region has clearly not achieved the necessary economic milestones to successfully accommodate regional agreements such as the AfCFTA and the Industrialization Agenda; and is this simply wordplay to avoid implementation of human-rights based development, that is detrimental to Africa’s development?

Furthermore, it is critical to analyze the situation from an understanding of how money works in the different African countries, again giving an example of Malawi. Malawi continues to record high levels of corruption, with the most recent headline on the topic being the disappearance of a bulk of the COVID-19 response funding which the Government is still investigating, thus an opportunity to question whether or not we truly lack the funds due to the longstanding status of the country as impoverished, or perhaps lack of funds due to the consistent profligacy of public funds by decision-makers.

Fourth, and perhaps a very key point of interrogation is the national access to the vaccine in the different countries, and who exactly makes up for the 3% of the fully vaccinated population, for example, the Kenyan government has allowed private institutions to source their own approved vaccines and administer them at a price, the government will not regulate the price of these services and instead let the ‘market forces to determine the cost.

That in itself limits the pool of citizens who can access the vaccine to the population who are likely the rich and wealthy who can afford the vaccine and are also largely men. 

The situation echoes that of many other countries where the centers of vaccinations are closer to urban centers where people within the urban vicinities can easily access without taking into account those in peri-urban, rural areas, and hard to reach areas, where the vast majority of the population resides, therefore creating another divide between the poor and the rich within the country.

It is, therefore, reasonable to understand and quote General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization Director, when he says, “The world has reached a situation of “vaccine apartheid” 

It is clear that the pandemic is not a once-off breakout of a devastating disease, and therefore we need actionable response mechanisms if we are to ever recover and adapt to a new normal and for that to happen, we absolutely need to address the pandemic and the vaccine distribution from a feminist perspective that takes into account all groups of people and their needs and tailor-make the recovery plans to those needs, if not, Africa may as well wave the white flag.