Africa expects leaders to take action to speed up access to Covid vaccines and ensure health remains a priority after the pandemic.
As the African Union marks its 20th anniversary this year, there are three priorities that must top the agenda of leaders meeting at the Heads of State Summit in Addis Ababa in early February.
First, Africa expects its leaders to take urgent action to speed-up access to Covid-19 vaccines, while also ensuring that health remains a permanent priority after the pandemic. The latest data shows that less than 11 percent of Africa’s 1.2 billion people have been fully vaccinated.
In contrast, nearly 72 percent of high-income countries have been fully vaccinated and wealthier nations are now doling out booster shots and stockpiling vaccines for future use while Africa struggles to provide first and second doses to a fraction of the population.
Recent outbreaks of new Covid-19 variants reinforce just how interconnected the world is and why it is crucial to ensure everybody is vaccinated: a fresh breakout anywhere is a threat everywhere and no-one is safe until everyone is safe.
This is the time for African leaders to be more vocal and united, to speak with one voice against this unethical and unfair treatment on distribution and access to Covid-19 vaccines. This is also the time for AU leaders to work towards a coordinated agenda on vaccine manufacturing for the continent. By collaborating with financial and knowledge partners, the continent should aim for producing at least half of its vaccines locally by 2040.
African leaders must commit to investing in healthcare delivery on the continent, creating healthcare jobs and curbing the outflow of African health workers by implementing competitive employment packages for healthcare workers.
The second priority for the AU Summit is to chart a roadmap for a resilient economic recovery post-Covid-19. The IMF estimates that Africa needs additional financing of $285 billion through 2025 just to respond to the pandemic, and at least $500 billion to get back on track to pre-Covid-19 levels of economic performance.
While the IMF allocated almost $650 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to address the global impacts and aftershocks of the pandemic, Africa only got $33 billion — just five percent — of the total allocation. This amount falls short of the continent’s financing needs. The rich western nations should be encouraged to voluntarily recycle part or all of their special drawing rights to ease liquidity pressure in poorer countries.
African governments must also commit to using the resources transparently, increasing public expenditure to support vulnerable businesses and communities that have been impacted by the pandemic.
The third priority for African leaders this year is to promote inclusive economic transformation and jobs-induced growth to improve the quality of life for all Africans.
African governments should prioritise decent job creation and develop a centralized national employment observatory and information system to help citizens track employment trends, emerging opportunities, and the progress and impact of supporting initiatives. African leaders should further address the constraints to doing business.
Lastly, the AU Summit should assert Africa’s commitment to a continental free trade area by eliminating intra-regional non-tariff barriers to trade and supporting smallholder businesses to adapt to new opportunities and challenges. This includes simplifying and harmonising licensing requirements, automating administrative procedures, unifying tax administration, and making information readily available through one-stop shops.
These are some of the anniversary goodies that Africa leaders should bring to the AU Summit.
Happy anniversary!
Dorine Nininahazwe is the Africa Union and East Africa director, ONE Campaign