Many African countries receive vaccines that are on the verge of expiring in western countries Providing nearly expired vaccines seen as violation of human rights

Source: China Daily

Nigeria was recently forced to destroy more than 1 million doses of expired AstraZeneca vaccine. According to reports, vaccines received from Western countries through the "COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan" arrived in Nigeria with only 4-6 weeks left to be valid and could not be put into use in time. In Africa, it is not unique for people like Nigeria to receive expired vaccines from the West. Countries such as congo, Malawi and Senegal all face similar problems.

[Photo/Agencies]

Hoarding of COVID-19 vaccines by some Western countries and providing nearly expired vaccines to Africa is immoral, violates basic human rights and delays the end of the pandemic and global socioeconomic recovery, according to African experts.

According to African experts, some Western countries have hoarded COVID-19 vaccines and provided them with near-expired vaccines to Africa, violating basic human rights and delaying the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the process of global socio-economic recovery.

They made the remarks after Nigeria destroyed more than 1 million expired doses of AstraZeneca vaccine last week. The vaccine doses were donated by Western countries and had just weeks left on their shelf life.

African experts made the remarks after Nigeria destroyed more than 1 million doses of expired AstraZeneca vaccines last week. These vaccines are donated by Western countries and have a shelf life of only a few weeks.

In addition to Nigeria, countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Senegal also face similar problems of expired COVID-19 vaccines.

In addition to Nigeria, countries such as Congo, Malawi and Senegal face similar problems with expired vaccines.

'It is immoral and an outright violation of the basic tenets of human rights to use the continent of Africa as a dumping site for expired COVID-19 vaccines that are being donated by the Western countries,' said Dennis Munene, executive director of the China-Africa Center at the Kenya-based Africa Policy Institute.

Dennis Munene, executive director of the Centre for Central Africa at the Kenya African Policy Institute, said: "It is immoral and a complete violation of the basic principles of human rights to use Africa as a dumping ground for expired vaccines donated by Western countries. ”

'The weakest link in the fight against COVID-19 are some of the developed countries in the West that have been overtly and covertly advocating for 'vaccine imperialism and nationalism',' Munene said.

"Some developed countries in Europe and the United States are the weakest link in the fight against the new crown virus, and they openly or covertly advocate 'vaccine imperialism and nationalism'," Munene said.

Faisal Shuaib, head of Nigeria's National Primary Health Care Development Agency, told reporters last week that the destroyed AstraZeneca vaccine doses had been hoarded by developed countries and donated to Nigeria when they were about to expire. Some of these vaccines arrived with about four weeks of shelf life left, he said.

Faisal Shueb, director of Nigeria's National Primary Health Care Development Bureau, told reporters last week that the destroyed AstraZeneca vaccine was hoarded by developed countries that donated it to Nigeria when it was about to expire. Shueb said some of these vaccines have a shelf life of about four weeks left.

Gerald Mbanda, a researcher and publisher in Rwanda, said the hoarding of the vaccines by rich nations, even when the Omicron variant is spreading, is not only immoral, but also delays the end of the pandemic and global socioeconomic recovery.

Gerald Mbanda, a researcher and publisher from Rwanda, said that even in the context of the spread of the Omilon variant, developed countries are still hoarding vaccines, which is not only unethical, but also delays the end of the epidemic and the process of global socio-economic recovery.

While many rich countries are now administering booster shots to their populations, less than 9 percent of the whole population of Africa has been fully vaccinated, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. That is far below the World Health Organization target to vaccinate 40 percent of the populations in all countries by the end of the year.

Many developed countries are currently making it mandatory for people to get booster injections, and data from the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that less than 9% of the population in Africa has received two doses of the vaccine. This falls far short of the World Health Organization's target of vaccinate 40 per cent of all countries by the end of the year.

'Unless rich countries act humanely and share vaccines as well as provide patent rights for the manufacture of the vaccines in less-privileged countries, the war against the COVID-19 pandemic will be unnecessarily prolonged, as well as human suffering,' Mbanda said. 'No one will be safe until everyone is safe.

"Unless developed countries take humanitarian action, share vaccines, and provide patents for vaccine production to developing countries, they will not unnecessarily prolong the suffering of humanity and the war against COVID-19," Mbanda said. No one is safe until everyone is safe. ”

'By continuing to hoard vaccines, the rich countries are contributing to making poor countries poorer, at the same time failing to stop preventable deaths,' he added.

"The continued stockpiling of vaccines in developed countries has led to a greater scarcity of vaccines in developing countries and an inability to prevent preventable deaths," Mbanda added. ”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian called on Monday for countries to deliver safe and more effective vaccines to developing countries, including African countries, to make up the global vaccination gap.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on December 27 called on countries to provide safe and effective vaccines to developing countries, including African countries, to bridge the global vaccination gap.

Some Western countries have hoarded excessive amounts of COVID-19 vaccines, resulting in huge waste, he said, adding that China will continue to honor its commitment to making the vaccines a global public good and providing them to developing countries in need.

Zhao Lijian said that a small number of Western countries have hoarded vaccines far beyond their own needs, and the waste is serious. China will insist on making vaccines a global public good and provide vaccines to developing countries in need.

Munene said China has provided nearly 2 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations, making it the world's largest provider, and none of them have been near the expiration date.

Muney said China has provided nearly 2 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations, the largest number of vaccines in the world, and none of the vaccines are on the verge of expiring.

'Unlike some of the developed countries that are playing politics with the pandemic, China is committed to its pledge of building a community with a shared future for mankind,' he said.

He said: "Unlike some developed countries that have used the epidemic to play political games, China is committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind. ”

Source: China Daily

Reporter: Wang Xiaodong Liu Hongjie also contributed to this article

Editor: Dong Jing