日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / World Watch

Vaccines might be African economies' silver bullet

By Masila Thuvi | China Daily Global | Updated: 2021-08-03 09:05
Share
Share - WeChat
Kenyan tour guides and travel operators prepare to receive the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), under the COVAX scheme, in Nairobi, Kenya on April 27, 2021. [Photo/Agencies]

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far brought African economies almost to their knees, has seen many developing countries slip deeper and deeper into economic crisis.

Moreover, the drastic measures put in place by many governments, including lockdowns and curfews, have ended up putting their citizenry in a far worse position economically than before.

In Kenya, many owners of small and medium-sized enterprises complained of loss of business due to lockdowns and curfews, which cut off their clientele, especially during peak hours, leading to loss of income. Transit of goods and services almost came to a halt.

However, a new dawn of hope seems to have come with the advent of COVID-19 vaccines, which bring a glimpse of a brighter future. Kenya marked a milestone in its fight against COVID-19 when, on March 3, it received 1.02 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine as part of its allocation of 3.56 million doses from COVAX, the global vaccine-sharing initiative.

The drive by the government to vaccinate front-line personnel has created a lot of optimism and confidence in executing their jobs and a sense of safety that they are protecting their families as well as the whole community.

This year, therefore, has seen significant economic recovery across different sectors, although some sectors seem to need a longer path to recovery. People's confidence and the resumption of business activities amid the ongoing vaccine drive have seen a return of business and mobility, edging toward pre-pandemic levels. There is growing optimism and movement of people outside their perceived "safe havens" as vaccines become more widely available to the public.

Africa's growth performance and the outlook of the African Development Bank indicate that most economies in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to grow by 3.4 percent in 2021 after shrinking in 2020. This is greatly attributed to improved economic activities through resumption of tourism, a rebound in commodity prices and the easing of pandemic-induced restrictions.

However, the pace of economic recovery depends on the rate at which Africa gets its population fully vaccinated.

It is on this note that the African Union's COVID-19 Vaccine Acquisition Task Team set a continental goal of vaccinating at least 60 percent of Africa's population by allocating vaccines to AU member states, according to their population size, through a pooled procurement mechanism. This is a prerequisite to saving African lives and livelihoods, safely reopening economies and resuming Africa's economic development agenda. It is also in addition to the vaccines offered by the COVAX facility to AU members for up to 30 percent of the participating countries' populations.

The African Continental Free Trade Area established a platform for building a resilient and inclusive health system in Africa, with local production of vaccines, medicines and medical equipment, in order to boost the number of people who have been vaccinated. The continent's vaccination rate is now just 2.6 percent, with some countries yet to receive any vaccines as of June. The free trade area also aims, by reducing tariffs and harmonizing trade rules across the continent, to increase intra-African trade by 52.3 percent by 2022.

If the economic recovery rate observed in regions where more than 30 percent of the population has been vaccinated is anything to go by, the vaccines truly are a proverbial silver bullet against the economic woes precipitated by the pandemic in Africa.

The author is a business and finance consultant based in Nairobi. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 狠狠干91 | 黄色网址进入 | 午夜影院恐怖电影免费看 | 欧美最新一区二区三区四区 | 国产欧美在线观看视频 | 久草社区在线 | 精品视频手机在线观看免费 | 欧美日韩成人网 | 国产日韩欧美在线 | 天天干夜夜爽 | 5g免费影院永久天天影院在线 | 亚洲日本片 | 国内精品久久久久影院老司 | 91日日| 中文字幕在线电影观看 | 小明www永久在线看 国产美女一区二区三区 | 青娱乐中文字幕 | 狠狠色噜噜狠狠狠97影音先锋 | 亚洲国产成a人v在线观看 | 精品视频在线观看 | 一区视频 | 成人国产免费视频 | 正在播放国产无套露脸 | 九久精品| 国产亚洲精品久久久久久打不开 | 欧美高清69hd | 精品女同一区二区三区免费播放 | 亚洲国产精品视频 | 午夜视频在线免费观看 | 荷兰欧美一级毛片 | 午夜黄色影院 | 男女国产视频 | 操久久久 | 另类亚洲视频 | 免费看的久久久久 | 久久成人久久爱 | 麻豆精品视频在线 | 久久精品一区二区免费播放 | 天堂在线91| 窝窝午夜精品一区二区 | 久久精品久久久 |