September 2021: 80% of countries in Africa miss WHO Covid-19 vaccination goal

Eight in 10 countries in Africa will miss WHO’s goal of vaccinating the most vulnerable 10% of their populations by the end of September. Only 39 million people—around 3% of the continent’s inhabitants—are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Vaccine supply security and uncertainty around deliveries have not only been a significant impediment, but “the longer the delay in rolling out the vaccines, the greater the risk of additional challenges emerging such as variants, hesitancy, operational gaps or other threats.” WHO estimates that Covid-19 vaccine shipments to Africa must rise over sevenfold—from around 20 million per month to 150 million per month, on average—if the continent is to fully vaccinate 70% of its people by September 2022. WHO AFRO (1); WHO AFRO (2)