The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa has been delayed due to supply bottlenecks and financial challenges. Between February and May, Africa received only 18.2 million of the 66 million expected doses through COVAX due to reduced supplies from the Serum Institute of India. While limited vaccine supplies are hampering large-scale rollout, funding for operational costs like transportation and storage is also a critical barrier. Most African countries only have financial plans to cover vaccinating the first 3% of their populations, but more funding will be needed for subsequent phases of vaccination programs. WHO is supporting countries to strengthen their COVID-19 costing plans to help unlock additional donor funding needed to fund vaccination programs.

1. Supplybottleneck,financial challengesfuel delaysinAfrica’sCOVID-19vaccine rollout
Brazzaville –A blockage onsuppliesandfinancial challengesare delayingAfrica’srolloutof COVID-19
vaccinesandriskcurtailingplanstosignificantlyexpandthe continent’srolloutlaterthisyear.
Vaccine deliveriestoAfricathroughthe COVAXfacilitygroundtoa nearhalt inMay as the Serum
Institute of Indiadiverteddosesfordomesticuse.BetweenFebruaryandMay the continent
receivedjustaboutaquarter– 18.2 million –of the 66 millionexpecteddosesthroughCOVAX.
“As people livinginrichercountrieshitthe resetbuttonthissummerandtheirlivesstarttolook
normal,inAfricaour liveswill stayonhold.Thisisunjust,”saidDrMatshidisoMoeti, the World
HealthOrganization(WHO) RegionalDirectorforAfrica.“We are optimisticthatvaccine availability
will improve significantlyinthe secondhalf of the year.We can still catchup and make up forthe
lostground,but time isrunningout.”
The COVAXFacilitycontinuestoexplore optionstomitigate the impactof thisglobal supplyshortage
and isin active negotiationswithothermanufacturersof COVID-19vaccinestodiversifythe portfolio
while supportingthe medium- tolong-termscale upof manufacturingcapacity.
“The supplygapcan be closedif countrieswithsurplusdosessetaside apercentage of vaccinesfor
COVAX,”saidDr Moeti.“I welcome the pledge bythe UnitedStatesthisweektoshare 80 million
doseswithothercountries,inadditiontorecentshipmentsof vaccinesfromFrance toMauritania.
Dose sharingiskeyto endingthe supplycrunchand the pandemicasa whole,asno one issafe until
everyone issafe.”
While limitedsuppliesof dosesare hamperingthe large-scalerolloutof vaccines,fundingfor
operational costsisalsoa critical barrier.Eightcountrieshave usedupall theirvaccines,butover20
countrieshave administeredlessthan50% of theirdoses.
COVAXisprovidingitsshare of vaccinesforfree tolower-income countries,butthere are other
significantcosts.Itisestimatedthat60% of everydollarspentondeliveringvaccinesisneededfor
operations.The WorldBankcalculatesthaton topof the moneyneededtobuyenoughvaccinesto
ensure adequate protectionfromCOVID-19,another3billionisrequiredtodeliverthe vaccinesinto
the arms of people.
In some Africancountries,the lackof fundsisalreadycausingdelaysinadditiontoa shortage of
vaccinators,sub-optimaltraining,weakercommunicationstoboostthe uptake of vaccinesandan
inabilitytocapture crucial dataor to printanddistribute immunizationcards.
Most Africancountrieshave financial plansinplace tocoverthe first3% of theirpopulations,but
earlyevidence showsthatmanyfinancial plansare inadequate forthe larger,more geographically
spreadnextphases.The costingplansalsomisscrucial expendituressuchashiringvaccinators,
administration,cold-chainstorage,logisticsandtransportforvaccinesto reach widelydispersed
populations.
While domesticfinancingof these operational costsisencouraged,COVAX,Gavi,the Vaccine
Alliance,the WorldBankandotherdonorsare readyto provide some funding.However,tounlock
these funds,robustfinancialplansare necessary.

2. “It’scritical to use thistime,while there are onlylimiteddoses,tocostandplan fora more effective
rolloutandensure thatall dosesare usedaseffectivelyaspossible andnone gotowaste,”saidDr
Moeti.“WHO is onhand to supportcountrieswiththeir COVID-19costingplans.”
Onlya handful of Africancountrieshave made gooduse of the COVID-19Vaccine Introductionand
DeploymentCostingTool producedbythe COVAXFacility,whichaimstohelpcountriesdetermine
theirfundingneeds.The tool isthe firststepto a well-structuredbudget,offeringaquickyet
comprehensive estimationof incremental costs.
Togetherwiththe WorldEconomicForum, WHO helda virtual pressconference todaywithDr
Moeti,DenaRingold,Regional Director,HumanDevelopment,WestandCentral AfricaRegion,
WorldBank, andRazia Khan,StandardChartered,Headof Researchand Chief Economist,Africa&
Middle East.Theywere joinedbyDr RichardMihigo,Coordinator,ImmunizationandVaccines
DevelopmentProgramme,WHORegional Office forAfrica.