Supply and Financial Challenges Delay Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout in Africa

THE AFRICAN STORY ADVERTISE WITH US DON’T BE LEFT BEHIND ISSUE NUMBER 770 VOLUME 2 24 - 30 MAY 2021 Over 1.2 million need health assistance in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Province page 4 ‘Youth are Africa’s best asset, invest in them’ -African Development Bank SUPPLY AND FINANCIAL CHALLENGES DELAY page 5 COVID-19 VACCINE The Coffee Buzz – serving organic ROLLOUT Cuisine in Kasane IN AFRICA -Serum Institute of India diversion doses for domestic use affects vaccine deliveries to Africa page 12 2 Echo Report Echo Newspaper 24 May - 30 May 2021 THE AFRICAN STORY News, Finance, Travel and Sport Telephone: (267) 3933 805/6. E-mail: newsdesk@echo. co.bw Advertising Telephone: (267) 3933 805/6 E-mail: [email protected] Sales & Marketing Manager Ruele Ramoeng [email protected] Editor Bright Kholi [email protected] Head of Design Ame Kolobetso [email protected] Distribution & Circulation Mogapi Ketletseng [email protected] Echo is published by YMH Publishing YMH Publishing, Supply and financial challenges delay Unit 3, Kgale Court, Plot 128, GIFP, Gaborone Postal address: P O BOX 840, COVID-19 vaccine Rollout in Africa Gaborone, Botswana Telephone: (267) 3933 805/6. E-mail: [email protected] A blockage on supplies and if countries with surplus doses the lack of funds is already and other donors are ready to www.echo.co.bw financial challenges are delaying set aside a percentage of vaccines causing delays in addition provide some funding. However, Africa’s rollout of COVID-19 for COVAX,” said Dr Moeti. to a shortage of vaccinators, to unlock these funds, robust DISCLAIMER: vaccines and risk curtailing “I welcome the pledge by the sub-optimal training, weaker financial plans are necessary. Echo Newspaper welcomes concise letters from readers. plans to significantly expand United States this week to share communications to boost the “It’s critical to use this time, Letters must carry the the continent’s rollout later 80 million doses with other uptake of vaccines and an while there are only limited full name and address of this year. countries, in addition to recent inability to capture crucial doses, to cost and plan for a more the sender. Letters must Vaccine deliveries to Africa shipments of vaccines from data or to print and distribute effective rollout and ensure that conform to the laws of through the COVAX facility France to Mauritania. Dose immunization cards. all doses are used as effectively as Botswana and to the Press Council of Botswana’s Code ground to a near halt in May sharing is key to ending the Most African countries possible and none go to waste,” Of Ethics. Letters will also be as the Serum Institute of India supply crunch and the pandemic have financial plans in place said Dr Moeti. “WHO is on hand edited for length, libel and diverted doses for domestic use. as a whole, as no one is safe until to cover the first 3% of their to support countries with their language. Between February and May the everyone is safe.” populations, but early evidence COVID-19 costing plans.” continent received just about We are optimistic that vaccine shows that many financial plans Only a handful of African a quarter – 18.2 million – of availability will improve are inadequate for the larger, countries have made good the 66 million expected doses significantly in the second half more geographically spread use of the COVID-19 Vaccine through COVAX. of the year next phases. The costing plans Introduction and Deployment “As people living in richer While limited supplies of doses also miss crucial expenditures Costing Tool produced by the countries hit the reset button are hampering the large-scale such as hiring vaccinators, COVAX Facility, which aims to this summer and their lives start rollout of vaccines, funding administration, cold-chain help countries determine their to look normal, in Africa our lives for operational costs is also a storage, logistics and transport funding needs. The tool is the will stay on hold. This is unjust,” critical barrier. Eight countries for vaccines to reach widely first step to a well-structured said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the have used up all their vaccines, dispersed populations. budget, offering a quick yet Read more Echo World Health Organization but over 20 countries have While domestic financing comprehensive estimation of stories on our (WHO) Regional Director for administered less than 50% of these operational costs is incremental costs. Facebook page by Africa. “We are optimistic that of their doses. encouraged, COVAX, Gavi, the vaccine availability will improve COVAX is providing its Vaccine Alliance, the World Bank (WHORegionalOffice) scanning the QR significantly in the second half share of vaccines for free to code below with of the year. We can still catch up lower-income countries, but your mobile phone and make up for the lost ground, there are other significant but time is running out.” costs. It is estimated that The COVAX Facility continues 60% of every dollar spent on to explore options to mitigate delivering vaccines is needed the impact of this global for operations. The World Bank supply shortage and is in calculates that on top of the active negotiations with other money needed to buy enough manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines to ensure adequate vaccines to diversify the protection from COVID-19, portfolio while supporting the another 3 billion is required medium- to long-term scale to deliver the vaccines into the up of manufacturing capacity. arms of people. “The supply gap can be closed In some African countries, Echo Newspaper 24 May - 30 May 2021 Echo Report 3 subsistence. Inflation is another factor in Criminality isn’t the only way to see theft. Inflation in Zimbabwe is driven by a lack of confidence in the country’s economic policies. electricity theft in Zimbabwe In 2020, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority approved a 50% tariff increase by the power utility. Consumers’ salaries Electricity theft is a global of electricity access doesn’t without electricity theft, the study – observed that: and wages are also eroded by challenge and Zimbabwe hasn’t point to inadequacies in the power utility would be able to When the political economic inflation and they rarely get been spared. The country has country’s energy policy nor deliver services as expected. system doesn’t benefit a group an increment in line with the lost up to 1,000km of power political economy. Rather, it’s Electricity theft in Zimbabwe of people, they feel alienated inflation rate. lines due to cable theft. The portrayed as simple criminality. attracts a punishment of not and find ways to claim what This mismatch between the official explanation is that It puts the blame on others, less than 10 years in prison. they need to live a decent life. economic system and the utility this is driven by organised instead of the government. This sentence is applicable for Whereas some powerful entities needs of the poor perpetuates crime with some accomplices For policy makers, the theft in the form of tampering such as mining companies can inequality, which triggers illegal coming from government problem is with the perpetrators with apparatus of generating, pay for electricity in US dollars, connections. They can arguably departments. Politicians say and would be solved if citizens transmitting, distributing or most Zimbabweans cannot. be considered a way to access theft and the vandalism of changed “their culture” supplying electricity with The World Bank observed rights, rather than a crime. electricity infrastructure is of damaging electricity the result that any supply that the Zimbabwean economic The question is whether the politically motivated to derail infrastructure. Understanding of electricity is cut off or situation has been worsened by existing national policies are the government’s economic this is useful to inform energy interrupted. the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s sufficient to deliver energy endeavours. This would be the policy and practice so that When policy makers reduce estimated that the number of as a social good rather than effect of blackouts, rising energy Zimbabweans get a reliable and electricity scarcity to a few extremely poor people reached a commercial good. The costs and lost taxes. affordable electricity supply. The factors like theft and vandalism, 7.9 million in 2020 – almost introduction of prepaid metering I conducted research to choice of explanatory causes to be solved with technology 49% of the population. And shows how commercial interests illuminate what policy options determines what practical and stiffer penalties, they’re nearly 500,000 households tend to win. The first 50kWh are enabled, constrained or actions may be taken to alleviate oversimplifying. They’re missing have at least one member who of electricity bought in a made invisible by the way electricity scarcity. other factors that contribute to lost their job in 2020. calendar month are cheaper electricity theft is spoken about Electricity theft comes in electricity theft. Electricity theft committed by than subsequent purchases. in Zimbabwe. I found that this various forms. These include This approach appeals to the poor is easily understood. Many poor people cannot afford discourse conceals the real cause fraud through meter tampering, politicians because it requires But it’s also committed by the this higher-priced electricity. of electricity scarcity in the stealing via illegal connections, them to do basically nothing. It economically and politically Too often these neoliberal country. copper wire and transformer removes electricity theft from powerful, especially in the remedies are considered From the data, it emerged that oil theft, unpaid bills and the political realm and recasts form of unpaid bills. This is effective in revenue generation, electricity theft in Zimbabwe buying and selling of illegal it as criminality.

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