‘How can we protect our population?’ – Kenya’s president criticises vaccine nationalism

<p>Kenya’s president has told Sky News that vaccine nationalism “has really shown how unequal this world is” – and has vowed to fight “day and night” to ensure that developing countries are treated equally.</p> <p>Uhuru Kenyatta is calling for intellectual property rights relating to coronavirus jabs to be released so his country can manufacture its own supplies.</p> <p>The head of Kenya’s vaccine taskforce has told Sky News that – although Kenya is ready to buy jabs and has the money to do so – it is unable to access them because richer countries have reserved so many.</p> <div class="sdc-site-video sdc-article-widget callfn" data-fn="sdc-site-video" data-component-name="sdc-site-video" data-lite="true" data-id="id_11709f23-a556-44eb-a5a3-d166470432ff" data-video-id="ref:11709f23-a556-44eb-a5a3-d166470432ff" data-account-id="6058004172001" data-provider="brightcove" data-originator-id="51" data-clip-type="" data-sdc-video-id="11709f23-a556-44eb-a5a3-d166470432ff" data-sensitive="false" data-player-id="RC9PQUaJ6" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids="" data-package="" data-asset-path="" data-asset-version="" data-competition="" data-sport-category="" data-amp-iframe-embed="" data-autoplay="" data-options="" data-video-ad-unit="" data-is-live-stream="false" data-state="loading" data-copy-url-text="URL copied to clipboard" tabindex="-1" readability="7"> <p class="sdc-site-video__accessibility-message" data-role="accessibility-message">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player</p> <div class="sdc-site-video__inner"> <div class="sdc-site-video__content"> <span aria-hidden="true" data-role="poster" class="sdc-site-video__poster"><br /> <img src="https://e3.365dm.com/21/07/768x432/skynews-kenya-president-vaccine_5462122.jpg?20210729192905%20600w" alt="" srcset="" aria-hidden="true" class="sdc-site-video__poster-img"><br /> <span class="sdc-site-video__loader"></span></p> <p> </span><br /> <video id="id_11709f23-a556-44eb-a5a3-d166470432ff" data-embed="default" data-application-id="" class="video-js sdc-site-video__tag" controls="" playsinline=""></video> </div><figcaption class="sdc-site-video__caption"> <p> <span class="sdc-site-video__caption-text" data-role="caption-text">Kenyan president on ‘vaccine nationalism’</span><br /> </figcaption></div> </p></div> <p>Mr Kenyatta said: “Where do we get these vaccines from, how are we able to protect our population? This is the fight that’s out there.”</p> <p>In March, Kenya received about one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as part of the COVAX programme – and this week, the UK announced that it would be sending 817,000 jabs to the country.</p> <div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region " data-interscroller="true" data-format="floated-mpu" data-role="sticky-region" data-component-name="sdc-site-layout"> <div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region__target"> <div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region__mask"> <div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region__content"> <div class="sdc-site-au-wrapper "> <div class="sdc-site-au site-component-vertical-margin" data-ad-format="mpu-1" data-type="" aria-hidden="true"> <p> <span class="sdc-site-au__label-text" data-label-text="Advertisement">Advertisement</span> </p> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> <p>The East African nation has a population of 53 million people, and the latest figures show that just 2.35% have been vaccinated.</p> <p>Urging for countries with vaccine supplies to step up and ensure there is equal access for all, Mr Kenyatta said: “We know there are some countries that have vaccinated well over 40% to 50% of their adult population. They are now vaccinating teenagers.</p> <div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-article-related-stories" data-component-name="sdc-article-related-stories"> <div class="sdc-article-related-stories__content"> <h3 class="sdc-article-related-stories__title">More on Covid-19</h3> </p></div> </div> <p>“On top of that they have surpluses but are still not ready to share them with the rest of the world. That is the height, like I said, of nationalism, that really has been felt and this is something that we are fighting and we are going to fight day and night until we ensure that there is equity.”</p> <p>This week, the World Trade Organisation failed to reach agreement on a proposal to suspend intellectual property rights for COVID vaccines.</p> <div class="sdc-site-video sdc-article-widget callfn" data-fn="sdc-site-video" data-component-name="sdc-site-video" data-lite="true" data-id="id_2f8f75a5-cc35-4ef8-9d65-a0cccafd0d8a" data-video-id="ref:2f8f75a5-cc35-4ef8-9d65-a0cccafd0d8a" data-account-id="6058004172001" data-provider="brightcove" data-originator-id="51" data-clip-type="" data-sdc-video-id="2f8f75a5-cc35-4ef8-9d65-a0cccafd0d8a" data-sensitive="true" data-player-id="RC9PQUaJ6" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids="" data-package="" data-asset-path="" data-asset-version="" data-competition="" data-sport-category="" data-amp-iframe-embed="" data-autoplay="" data-options="" data-video-ad-unit="" data-is-live-stream="false" data-state="loading" data-copy-url-text="URL copied to clipboard" tabindex="-1" readability="7"> <p class="sdc-site-video__accessibility-message" data-role="accessibility-message">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player</p> <div class="sdc-site-video__inner"> <div class="sdc-site-video__content"> <span aria-hidden="true" data-role="poster" class="sdc-site-video__poster"><br /> <img src="https://e3.365dm.com/21/07/768x432/skynews-kenya-john-sparks-coronavirus_5461343.jpg?20210728223757%20600w" alt="" srcset="" aria-hidden="true" class="sdc-site-video__poster-img"><br /> <span class="sdc-site-video__loader"></span></p> <p> </span><br /> <video id="id_2f8f75a5-cc35-4ef8-9d65-a0cccafd0d8a" data-embed="default" data-application-id="" class="video-js sdc-site-video__tag" controls="" playsinline=""></video> </div><figcaption class="sdc-site-video__caption"> <p> <span class="sdc-site-video__caption-text" data-role="caption-text">Kenya’s COVID vaccine supply is dwindling</span><br /> </figcaption></div> </p></div> <p>Most developing countries support the waiver but several wealthy countries remain strongly opposed, saying it will deter research that allowed jabs to be developed so quickly.</p> <p>The WTO is due to hold an informal gathering in September on the issue, followed by a formal meeting in October.</p> <p>Mr Kenyatta says this is an issue that affects the entire developing world, adding: “This is something that really needs to be looked at.”</p> <p>Kenya is currently engaged with AstraZeneca to determine how its vaccine could be manufactured in the country.</p> <p>Mr Kenyatta said the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) would begin production “in the shortest possible time” if IP rights were released.</p> <div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image"> <figure class="sdc-article-image__figure"> <div class="sdc-article-image__wrapper" data-aspect-ratio="16/9"> <img class="sdc-article-image__item" loading="lazy" intrinsicsize="768x432" src="https://e3.365dm.com/21/07/768x432/skynews-kenyatta-kenya-boris-johnson_5462331.jpg?20210730000728" srcset="https://e3.365dm.com/21/07/384x216/skynews-kenyatta-kenya-boris-johnson_5462331.jpg?20210730000728 380w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/07/768x432/skynews-kenyatta-kenya-boris-johnson_5462331.jpg?20210730000728 760w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/07/1600x900/skynews-kenyatta-kenya-boris-johnson_5462331.jpg?20210730000728 1024w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/07/2048x1152/skynews-kenyatta-kenya-boris-johnson_5462331.jpg?20210730000728 2048w" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw" alt="Mr Kenyatta spent time with Mr Johnson at Chequers on Wednesday"> </div><figcaption class="sdc-article-image__caption"> <span class="sdc-article-image__visually-hidden">Image:</span><br /> <span class="sdc-article-image__caption-text">Mr Kenyatta spent time with Mr Johnson at Chequers on Wednesday</span><br /> </figcaption></figure> </div> <p>The president was in London to co-host the Global Education Summit with Boris Johnson – and the meeting’s fundraising target of $5bn (£3.58bn) is the most ambitious to date.</p> <p>The UK pledged £430m to the summit, but it comes in a year foreign aid was cut from 0.7% to 0.5% of national income.</p> <p>Mr Kenyatta says the impact of these cuts is already being felt, and a number of specific programmes have already been affected.</p> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://patabook.com/news/2021/07/29/how-can-we-protect-our-population-kenyas-president-criticises-vaccine-nationalism/">‘How can we protect our population?’ – Kenya’s president criticises vaccine nationalism</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://patabook.com/news">Patabook News </a>.</p>

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