World’s most vulnerable at risk due to limited, unequal vaccine supplies: WHO
GENEVA (AA) – Inequitable distribution continues to deprive the world’s most vulnerable people of vaccines, with poorer countries consistently struggling to access vaccines, according to a new World Health Organization report.
Limited vaccine supply and unequal distribution drive global disparities, the WHO said in its Global Vaccine Market Report released on Wednesday.
“The right to health includes the right to vaccines,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“And yet this new report shows that free-market dynamics are depriving some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people of that right. WHO calls for much-needed changes to the global vaccine market to save lives, prevent disease, and prepare for future crises.”
Manufacturing capacity worldwide has increased but remains highly concentrated, as just 10 manufacturers alone provide 70% of vaccine doses, excluding those for COVID-19, according to the report.
Several of the top 20 most widely used vaccines come from mainly two suppliers.
This concentrated manufacturing base leads to the risk of shortages and regional supply insecurity.
In 2021, the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions were dependent on manufacturers headquartered elsewhere for 90% of their vaccine needs.
Entrenched intellectual property monopolies and limited technology transfer further limit the ability to build and use local manufacturing capacity, the WHO said.
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