Rich countries, the major purchasers of pharmaceuticals, often negotiate favourable prices with manufacturers or impose price controls for vaccines for their populations. Vaccine prices must, therefore, be fair, equitable and affordable, especially for poor populations and the health system that serves them. To effect this equity principle, GAVI, the global vaccine alliance, was set up in 2000 to accelerate equitable uptake and coverage of vaccines, especially in poor countries and for underserved populations. Some 58 countries, 38 of them in Africa, now pay a fraction of a vaccine’s market price in industrialised countries. Monopolies, crude competition and short-sighted nationalism should not stand in the way of affordable vaccines.

Source: Daily Nation June 02, 2020 21:00 UTC