The Covid-19 pandemic was the main topic discussed at the “Compact with Africa” summit in Berlin, it was especially about unequal access to vaccines.
After a recommendation from the African Union, it was decided on Friday that the German laboratory BioNtech would set up production sites for messenger RNA vaccines in Africa, particularly in Senegal and Rwanda next year.
“We expressed our disappointment, we expressed our unhappiness, and said that it’s not fair that Africa has only vaccinated only 2% of the entire population of the 1.3 billion population and yet, the more developed countries in the north have vaccinated up to 60%,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“The availability as well as the production of vaccines are linked to the economic well-being of the African continent and when we see today that we have vaccinated more than 60% of our population and that it is 2% in Africa, it is is of course a dramatic injustice that we must overcome, we spoke about it honestly today “, commented Angela Merkel, German Chancellor.
“A historic day in our fight for access to the vaccine” confided Senegalese President Macky Sall.
At the end of June, the German laboratory had already announced that it wanted to apply the messenger RNA technique to malaria, with clinical trials scheduled for 2022.