African Development Bank president calls for fair access to vaccinesThe President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has called for fair access to Covid-19 vaccines for Africans, adding that debt relief would help African economies recover faster and better from the pandemic.
He warns that, so long as the coronavirus is unchecked in any part of the world, no one will be safe.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel – it just happens to be a very long tunnel. I am very positive that African economies will bounce back over the next two years, but the speed of recovery will depend on ensuring that Africa gets enough vaccines for its population,” Adesina says.
“The world must not short-change Africa on access to vaccines.”
He also says significant debt relief would be key to accelerating African economies’ recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.
Adesina adds that to recover faster, Africa will need significant debt forgiveness from bilateral and official creditors.