, Mayors from developing countries said on Friday that the inequality in the distribution of vaccine would further reinforce economic and other disparities.
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, said the disparity in vaccine rollout would result in “economic exclusion” as people who are not vaccinated will be restricted in their social and economic activity.
Speaking at a meeting organized by the World Health Organization, she said “If you have a vaccine pass, you’re not going to come as a tourist to a country where there’s very low levels of vaccination and similarly when it comes to value chains.” she added.
The Mayor said developing countries like Sierra Leone were stuck in the economic vicious circle generated from the unequal vaccine rollout. She pointed out t the relationship between recovery from pandemic by investing in health facilities and economic is just like the “chicken and egg”. Unless they were removed the economic pressure, they wouldn’t’ be able to invest in pandemic relief and health care facilities.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appeal to the international financing institutions to be open to concessional borrowing for these developing countries. The WHO had
He also believed that the donor countries should take actions to mitigate the secondary effect caused by vaccine inequality, “High income countries have the obligation to help developing world to recover, so the economic support, financial support will be very important.”
Other Mayors suggested ways to resolve the disparity in vaccine rollout. Claudia Lopez, Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, recommended that the priority should be given to improving vaccine production.
Similarly, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, Mayor of Accra, proposed an agreement on vaccine technology transfer, which would enable countries to manufacture vaccines locally.
According to an American non-profit organization Kaiser Family Foundation, high-income countries which account for 19% of the global adult population, have purchased more than half (54%, or 4.6 billion) of global vaccine doses purchased by March 17th. Of the remaining doses, 33% have flown to low and middle-income countries, who represents for 81% of population; the remaining 13% have been bought by COVAX.
