Development community calls for universal vaccine access to contain Omicron variant

The development community has called for universal vaccine access to mitigate the impact of Omicron and other COVID-19 variants. 

José Maria Neves, Cabo Verde president, on Thursday joined the development community in calling for urgent universal vaccine access as a way to mitigate the impact of Omicron and other variants of the COVID. 

Neves said this while speaking at the 16th edition of the African Economic Conference, being held in a hybrid format in Sal, Cabo Verde. 

The World Health Organisation had on Friday classified Omicron as a ‘variant of concern,’ signalling that it could be more contagious than other known variants. 

According to Neves, even though the world may have to live with COVID for a couple of years, ”we must act to manufacture our own vaccine and medicines to face this and other pandemics to come”.

“We must find innovative mechanisms for financing and managing sustainable development, otherwise we will disappoint young Africans,” he added. 

The president said the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic would be made easier if less-developed countries were equipped with required provisions to contain the pandemic. 

“The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, besides being internal to each country, is at the same time a global fight, which requires global collaborative solutions,” Neves said. 

“Everyone wins if the less developed countries have the necessary conditions to overcome this serious health, economic and social crisis and to leverage their sustainable development.”

Rui Figueiredo Soares, Cabo Verde foreign affairs minister, said the conference was held at a crucial time as the virus was spreading swiftly in countries. 

“It is hitting all countries without exception, hence this conference organised with the support of the African Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Economic Commission for Africa, could not have come at a better time,” Soares said. 

In a video message, Amina Mohammed, UN deputy secretary general, said the unequal distribution of vaccines could cost African countries billions of dollars. 

“Africa cannot recover from the pandemic alone, we need global solidarity,” she said.

Antonio Pedro, deputy executive secretary at the Economic Commission for Africa stressed that, if the pandemic was not properly addressed, it could hatch into more deadly variants. 

“Failure to address the pandemic through universal access to vaccines will spawn more resilient and potent variants, threatening the global effort to fight the virus,” Pedro said. 

“The recent emergence of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus illustrates my point.”

He attributed the emergence of the Omicron variant to ”an uncoordinated global response to the pandemic”. 

“The possibility of new and more virulent variants, coupled with imminent climate shocks, calls for a more coordinated global response to the pandemic, backed by bold and innovative financing mechanisms,” Pedro added.

Achim Steiner, UN under-secretary general and administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, called on vaccine-advantaged countries and producers to help ensure even distribution of vaccines. 

“Ensuring vaccine equity is the fastest way to end this pandemic,” Steiner said. 

“We need urgent cooperation from vaccine manufacturers and vaccine-producing countries and countries with high vaccination rates to tackle this acute vaccine supply shortage. 

“Doing so will help to open up economic and social opportunities across the continent, boosting GDP and driving forward economic recovery.

“We are seeing worrying signs of an uneven global economic recovery…Countries across Africa need new access to finance and debt relief measures, innovative financing solutions as well as more tailored support to transition to a green economy as well as the potential to leverage digital technology to address acute development challenges.”

Kevin Urama, acting chief economist and vice-president, economic governance and knowledge management, at the African Development Bank, emphasised how the pandemic continued to have an immense socio-economic impact on Africa. 

He said the bank was ready to support African countries as they rebuild their economies. 

“This has heightened the need for transformative domestic reforms. Challenges to Africa’s financing development must be tackled collectively,” he said.

The conference brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including policymakers, development institutions, the private sector, and researchers, to discuss ways to sustainably grow the continent’s development funding sources.