Thread by @DevReimagined

📣NEW📣 Our monthly #INFOGRAPHIC is here, with all you need to know about how #African countries are responding to #COVID19.

Our headline?

While deliveries are still far too low, #China has surpassed #COVAX as #Africa's top vaccine source. How and why? Read on 🧵👇🏾!

1/

2/ The first fact to be aware of is that #Africa accounts for under 3% of global cases, under 4% of global deaths, and under 2% of global vaccines administered.

3/ African governments and the @_AfricanUnion have so far ordered doses to cover 50% of the population. But only 1.9% of the population could be covered right now. It's a huge discrepancy, because deliveries are too slow.

4/ This month, 12 million new #vaccine doses arrived on the continent from various sources, including to four new countries. That's twice as many doses as last month, but still tiny, while local production on the continent has still not begun.

5/ With these new deliveries, #China has narrowly surpassed #COVAX to be the largest source of #vaccines in Africa - now accounting for 36% of deliveries. However, this is still not enough. Only 4% of the orders by African governments and @_AfricanUnion have been met.

6/ Not only this, because of differing economic conditions across #Africa, over 50% of the 50.2 million vaccines delivered have arrived in just 5 African countries, and some countries are way ahead of others in vaccination rates.

7/ And #vaccines already delivered are running out. 23 African countries that have started their vaccination campaigns have already used up over 50% of existing supplies.

8/ That means, while almost all African countries have started vaccinating, only 8 have partially vaccinated over 5% of citizens.

In context - the 31.8m total vaccines administered in Africa is less than the 34 million vaccines administered globally EVERY DAY.

9/ But - if #COVID19 has not been so prevalent in #Africa, is this really a problem? Yes and No... Certainly, experience has varied considerably across the continent, and still does. Countries are experiencing new waves, of differing magnitudes.

10/ Only two out of the 55 African countries - #Angola and #Namibia - are currently recording more daily cases and/or deaths than they ever have. But new strains have been detected in both of these countries, which could be dangerous.

11/ The upshot? Border closures, social distancing, and ramping up #COVID19 testing will remain crucial now. The costs of not doing so remain too high, despite vaccines.

12/ Three other key actions:

1⃣ #COVAX should deliver more, faster, incl. with Chinese vaccines;
2⃣ #African governments should diversify suppliers beyond COVAX;
3⃣ African governments should push for deals, IP waivers & procurement rules to enable local manufacturing.

13/ Check out the graphics and numbers here, let us know what you find surprising, worrying, or reassuring, and what you’d like us to find out next month.

/END

developmentreimagined.com/2021/06/07/chi…