Minister for Development Svenja Schulze: “The global community must learn from the experience of the COVID pandemic. Global cooperation and solidarity are not only requirements for fairness, but also for a more successful response to the threat posed by the virus. African authorities have asked the global community for help. And this help must be provided now. This applies not only to vaccine doses, but also to laboratory capacity, logistical support, and advice to help affected countries protect their populations and contain the spread of the virus. As a lesson from the pandemic, we have established a Global Emergency Fund, which is currently at $500 million. This money must now be used for Mpox. In the long term, the only fair answer is for Africa to produce its own vaccines. We are working with our partners to address this issue.”
that BMZ We support partner countries in Africa, primarily through the Gavi Immunization Alliance. We have raised money from various donors to finance basic immunizations for children in developing countries. Emergency Fund (“First Response Fund“) has already made $500 million available since the COVID pandemic, $50 million of which is BMZ. Although this fund cannot meet all needs, it can be used to procure the necessary vaccination doses in the short term. On the one hand, it can purchase existing vaccination doses, and on the other hand, it can increase production through a purchase guarantee for the manufacturer Bavarian Nordic. The fund can also finance the distribution of vaccines locally.
Germany, along with other European countries, is supporting the development of vaccine production in Africa. The African Union has set a goal of producing 60% of the vaccines needed on the continent by 2040, but currently only 1% is available. Asian suppliers are generally cheaper, making it difficult to set up new production. That is why Gavi presented a new financing mechanism at the end of June. The mechanism is intended to ease the high initial production costs and is largely supported by Germany and Europe. EU It is supported. That much BMZ We also support African governments to establish the regulatory authorities and training of experts needed to produce their own vaccines.
