Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), pointed out during the Qatar Economic Forum that Qatar’s continuous support and commitment will help build a better future for the African region.

According to Dr. Ghebreyesus, a safer and fairer future can be built for the people of Africa and the rest of the world with the help of Qatar.

Moreover, HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had delivered the opening address during the forum which took place yesterday.

"But it's clear that in a crisis Africa cannot rely solely on imports of the vaccines. We must build that capacity - not only for Covid-19 vaccines but for other vaccines and medical products." Director-General of the @WHO @DrTedros #QatarEconomicForum pic.twitter.com/JJ7FOFBWNm

— Bloomberg Live (@BloombergLive) June 21, 2021

The session titled ‘Leadership in a Post-Pandemic World’ included conversations about COVID-19, vaccination equity, and public-private partnership in healthcare.

“Until recently Africa has not seen the devastation of COVID-19 like some other regions. But Africa is now seeing an increase of cases and deaths and it is facing without vaccines,” said Dr. Ghebreyesus.

“With the support of COVAX, 52 countries in Africa have now started vaccinations. But by now only 40 million vaccine doses are available,” he said.

Dr. Ghebreyesus stated that WHO aims to vaccinate 10 percent of each country’s population by September of this year, 40 percent by the end of the year, and then 70 percent by June 2022.

Moreover, he pointed out that WHO and its partners are currently working towards procuring more vaccines in order to meet this goal.  

Speaking on the current situation of Africa, Dr. Ghebreyesus highlighted the need to build capacity not just for the COVID-19 vaccine but also other vaccines and medical products in the region as it cannot solely depend on the import of these essential products.

The next discussion during the session titled ‘The Future of Vaccines in Africa’ discussed the groundbreaking public-private partnership between The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and Mastercard Foundation to produce its own vaccines.

Both organizations had shared details regarding this unique collaboration during the session, adding that it will help strengthen Africa’s core capabilities and competencies.  

Noubar Afeyanalso, the co-founder and chairman of Moderna, stressed that public-private partnerships played a key role in manufacturing and testing, and distributing COVID-19 vaccines.

Moreover, he highlighted the importance and need for partnerships in such cases.

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Cover Image Credit and Source: The Peninsula