The World Health Organisation (WHO) has bemoaned the uneven distribution of vaccines as 77 percent of all vaccine doses have been administered in just 10 countries.
It indicated that since February 4, 2021, more people have been vaccinated against the COVID-19 than those that have been confirmed to have been infected since the beginning of the epidemic.
WHO submitted that overcoming the pandemic requires ensuring equitable access to vaccines for all countries – high, middle and lower income countries – and adherence to public health and social measures.
The WHO Country Representative, Dr. Kazadi Mulombo, stated these in Abuja, during a joint news briefing on COVID-19 vaccination updates of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NHCDA), the WHO and the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
He said: “The global failure to share vaccines equitably is fueling a two-track pandemic, with some countries seemingly bringing the pandemic under control and others experiencing a third wave.
“While a handful of countries have high vaccination rates and are now seeing lower numbers, other countries in Africa, America and Asia are facing stiff epidemics. The combination of the ineffective use of public health and social measures, including social mixing and vaccine inequity, continue to give COVID-19 an opportunity to mutate, spread and kill.
“Ensuring equitable access to vaccines requires extraordinary measures and global collaboration. Countries sharing doses, companies engaging with and making COVID-19 technology accessible, allowing free exports of critical materials for vaccine manufacturing and manufacturing know-how, will all be critical in ensuring equitable access to vaccines.”
