Africa summit in Berlin: Merkel promises more vaccine for developing countries

Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) promised more corona vaccines for developing countries after the G20 “Compact with Africa” conference.

"Germany will not only be able to give 30 million vaccine doses this year, but we will be able to give 70 million," said the Chancellor on Friday evening in Berlin.

The international vaccine initiative Covax will deliver more so that the vaccine can get to the people in Africa quickly.

The economic well-being of the continent is also linked to the availability of vaccines.

After the conference, which was also attended by the presidents of South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cyril Ramaphosa and Félix Tshisekedi, Merkel pointed out that so far only two percent of the population in Africa had been vaccinated against the corona virus. This is "a dramatic injustice that we have to overcome quickly," emphasized the Chancellor. The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly criticized the uneven distribution of corona vaccine.

There are also the first concrete projects for vaccine production in Africa, said Merkel. These are Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa. The fourth “Compact with Africa” conference took place in a hybrid format. Egypt, Ethiopia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia are participating in the “Compact with Africa” initiative.

Development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU) also spoke out in favor of independent vaccine production in Africa. "That would be an initial spark in the fight against Covid-19 and would also trigger a technology boost that will help with vaccinations against polio or, in the future, malaria," the minister told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Saturday edition). He is optimistic that the first corona vaccine “Made in Africa” will be available in six months. Müller, who will leave the government after the federal election in September, called for a “vaccine offensive” in Africa. In order to vaccinate as many people as possible quickly, the effort would have to be increased tenfold.