Leaders | Drug manufacturing

To build a vaccine industry, Africa must embrace the private sector

Without a shift in focus, the continent risks always being at the back of the queue

THE GLOBAL vaccination drive has been both inspiring and depressing. Inspiring because a combination of ingenuity, private-sector endeavour and effective government action has led to 4.9bn people around the world receiving at least one jab in one of the largest mobilisations of medical resources in history. Depressing because 3bn people, mainly in poorer countries, have yet to receive a single shot and because the distribution of vaccines has been mired in autarky and bickering.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “An injection of reality”

Putin’s botched job

From the February 19th 2022 edition

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