According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), only 3 countries out of Africa’s 54 counties have made a commitment to pay for the COVAX Vaccination facility.
A report by the analysis dated 21 January 2021 notes that Gabon, South Africa, and Lybia were the only African countries that had made the commitment a fortnight ago.
EIU has said the delay in participating in the facility will probably delay the rollout plan for poorer countries and that will mean some countries will still be vaccinating their populations in the year 2022.
Said EIU:
COVAX facility has an ambitious agenda and could face serious challenges that delay and extend the delivery schedule well into 2022 for many of the world’s poorer nations. World’s most developed and richer countries are snapping up a large proportion of scheduled vaccine supply.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe is waiting to get vaccines to vaccinate 20% of its population through the same facility. The Finance Minister had said they have set aside $100 million to buy 10 million doses in order to achieve herd immunity just before he said private citizens will have to pay for the vaccines.
