World
COVID-19: Africa Needs to Break the Circle of Dependency
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
The Africa Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI) primarily aims at promoting the establishment of sustainable human vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa.
Since its establishment, AVMI together with multiple and different partners, have been advocating for the establishment of vaccine development and manufacturing in Africa.
With the outbreak of coronavirus, AVMI has embarked on public education on the risk of the pandemic and further been persuading African leaders about the need to serious prioritize the manufacturing of vaccines instead of depending on external supply.
In this snapshot interview, Patrick Tippoo, Executive Director at the Africa Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative, explains that vaccine manufacturing is a complex, time-consuming exercise requiring considerable commitment, and financial as well as technical resources. He further underscores the fact that the capital investment required is considerable and equally essential in a long-term future view for the health system and population in Africa.
Here are the interview excerpts:
What are your views about the global politics surrounding coronavirus vaccines? Where does Africa stand in this case?
It’s unfortunate that Covid-19 vaccines have become politicized leading to a situation where some regions and countries are lagging so far behind others with respect to vaccination coverage. As we’ve seen Africa, in particular, has been affected very negatively in this regard.
In your view, should vaccines and related coronavirus medicines be politicized, in the first place, in this era of a global pandemic?
In pandemic situations, like we are experiencing now, it is regrettable that vaccines have become so politicized. Ideally one would expect that every effort would be made to ensure that vaccines are made available equitably to ensure that there is no delay in getting the pandemic under control across the globe.
Within the context of current trade wars, for example between the United States and China, and/or between China and India, what do you think be done to remove distribution barriers for vaccines in regions such as Africa?
Understandably, I don’t think that trade wars between certain countries are a major reason for Africa not having accessed vaccines in proportion to other geographies.
As I understand, the reason why Africa does not have access to the volume of vaccines is primarily due to the fact that African countries could not purchase vaccines in advance and are dependent on facilities like COVAX. COVAX in turn has had challenges in securing enough vaccines for distribution into countries that signed up.
Does it imply that Africa will have difficulty in accessing the coronavirus vaccines? What do you suggest African leaders critically look at redirecting funds to their health systems and health research (R&D)?
African leaders need to rally together to ensure that no effort is spared in facilitating and supporting the building of large scale vaccine manufacturing capacity on the continent. The recent African Vaccine Manufacturing Summit in April is an encouraging start. The focus needs to be on developing real vaccine R&D capacity which leads to products. This requires substantial investment and a long-term commitment.
Furthermore, governments need to commit to buy locally made vaccines and work individually and collectively in creating guaranteed access to African vaccine markets. What makes this 10 times more difficult is that around 40 of the 54 African countries receive the vaccines from UNICEF financed by GAVI.
Business is business and making a profit is the basis for business. Do pharmaceutical firms have to be profit-oriented in the global health crisis?
A balance should be struck. Making a profit is vitally important for business sustainability. However, in a global health crisis such as Covid-19 companies should not be exploiting the situation to generate maximum profits. Indeed, some companies producing Covid-19 vaccines have demonstrated that this is possible, charging a few dollars per vaccine dose.
What could be the possible roles of the African Union (AU) and other sub-regional organizations?
Demand certainty and access to markets are vital. African governments, sub-regional organizations and the AU should work together to create regional or pooled markets and guarantee the purchase of locally produced vaccines. This is possibly the most important enabler of building and sustaining local vaccine manufacturing capacity.
Accelerate efforts to create streamlined regulatory processes for speedier accreditation of vaccine manufacturing facilities and licensing product to ensure that vaccines can be available in the fastest time possible. Delays in getting market authorization for a product by National Regulatory Authorities have a direct negative impact on cash flows and creates real barriers to building sustainable capacities.
Another essential contribution would be the mobilization of resources and/or creation of enabling environments for resources to be unlocked and discharged as vaccine production is capital intensive and requires access to innovative funding streams over 10-20 years.
Incentivization of technology transfer partnerships to achieve capacity building in the fastest possible time.
Invest in skills development programs specifically geared to creating a workforce skilled in vaccine development and manufacturing know-how.
In summary, no effort should be spared in working to ensure that in a pandemic situation vaccines there is no delay in getting vaccines to where they are most needed in the fastest possible time.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For transforming cross-border payments through its deployment with Global Money Exchange, Comviva has been named Best In-Class Cross Border Payments.
The global leader in digital transformation solutions clinched this latest accolade at the IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Innovation Award 2025.
The recognition highlights how Comviva’s mobiquity Pay is helping shape a modern cross-border payment ecosystem that stretches far beyond conventional remittance services.
Deployed as a white label Wallet Platform and launched as Global Pay Oman App, it fulfils GMEC’s dual vision—positioning itself as an innovative payment service provider while digitally extending its core money transfer business.
The solution allows GMEC to offer international money transfers alongside seamless forex ordering and other services. These capabilities sit alongside a broad suite of everyday financial services, including bill and utility payments, merchant transactions, education-related payments, and other digital conveniences — all delivered through one unified experience.
“This award is a testament to Oman’s accelerating digital transformation and our commitment to reshaping how cross-border payments serve people and businesses across the Sultanate.
“By partnering with Comviva and bringing the Global Pay Oman Super App, we have moved beyond traditional remittance services to create a truly inclusive and future-ready financial ecosystem.
“This innovation is not only enhancing convenience and transparency for our customers but is also supporting Oman’s broader vision of building a digitally empowered economy,” the Managing Director at Global Money Exchange, Subromoniyan K.S, said.
Also commenting, the chief executive of Comviva, Mr Rajesh Chandiramani, said, “Cross-border payments are becoming a daily necessity, not a niche service, particularly for migrant and trade-linked economies.
“This recognition from IBS Intelligence validates our focus on building payment platforms that combine global reach with local relevance, operational resilience and a strong user experience. The deployment with Global Money Exchange Co. demonstrates how mobiquity® Pay enables financial institutions to move beyond remittances and deliver integrated digital services at scale.”
“The deployment of mobiquity Pay for GMEC showcases how scalable, API-driven digital wallet platforms can transform cross-border payments into seamless, value-rich experiences.
“By integrating remittances, bill payments, forex services, and AI-powered engagement into a unified Super App, Comviva has reimagined customer journeys and operational agility.
“This Best-in-Class Cross-border Payments award win stands as a testament to Comviva’s excellence in enabling financial institutions to compete and grow in a digitally convergent world,” the Director for Research and Digital Properties at IBS Intelligence, Nikhil Gokhale, said.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
At the end of an extensive consultation with African foreign ministers, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has emphasized that Moscow would advance its economic engagement across Africa, admittedly outlining obstacles delaying the prompt implementation of several initiatives set forth in Strategic Action Plan (2023-2026) approved in St. Petersburg during the Russia-Africa Summit.
The second Ministerial Conference, by the Russian Foreign Ministry with support from Roscongress Foundation and the Arab Republic of Egypt, marked an important milestone towards raising bilateral investment and economic cooperation.
In Cairo, the capital city of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Lavrov read out the final resolution script, in a full-packed conference hall, and voiced strong confidence that Moscow would achieve its strategic economic goals with Africa, with support from the African Union (AU) and other Regional Economic blocs in the subsequent years. Despite the complexities posed by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, combined with geopolitical conditions inside the African continent, Moscow however reiterated its position to take serious steps in finding pragmatic prospects for mutual cooperation and improve multifaceted relations with Africa, distinctively in the different sectors: in trade, economic and investment spheres, education and culture, humanitarian and other promising areas.
The main event was the plenary session co-chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptians Abroad Bashar Abdelathi. Welcome messages from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdelhak Sisi were read.
And broadly, the meeting participants compared notes on the most pressing issues on the international and Russian-African agendas, with a focus on the full implementation of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan for 2023-2026, approved at the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in 2023.
In addition, on the sidelines of the conference, Lavrov held talks with his African counterparts, and a number of bilateral documents were signed. A thematic event was held with the participation of Russian and African relevant agencies and organizations, aimed at unlocking the potential of trilateral Russia-Egypt-Africa cooperation in trade, economic, and educational spheres.
With changing times, Africa is rapidly becoming one of the key centers of a multipolar world order. It is experiencing a second awakening. Following their long-ago political independence, African countries are increasingly insisting on respect for their sovereignty and their right to independently manage their resources and destiny. Based on these conditions, it was concluded that Moscow begins an effective and comprehensive work on preparing a new three-year Cooperation and Joint Action Plan between Russia and Africa.
Moreover, these important areas of joint practical work are already detailed in the Joint Statement, which was unanimously approved and will serve as an important guideline for future work. According to reports, the Joint Statement reflects the progress of discussions on international and regional issues, as well as matters of global significance.
Following the conference, the Joint Statement adopted reflects shared approaches to addressing challenges and a mutual commitment to strengthening multifaceted cooperation with a view to ensuring high-quality preparation for the third Russia-Africa Summit in 2026.
On December 19-20, the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was held in Cairo, Egypt. It was held for the first time on the African continent, attended by heads and representatives of the foreign policy ministries of 52 African states and the executive bodies of eight regional integration associations.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Social media platform, TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with United States and global investors to operate its business in America.
Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive, Mr Shou Zi Chew.
The deal, which is set to close on January 22, 2026 would end years of efforts by the US government to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns.
It is in line with a deal unveiled in September, when US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.
In the memo, TikTok said the deal will enable “over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community”.
Under the agreement, ByteDance will retain 19.9 per cent of the business, while Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will hold 15 per cent each.
Another 30.1 per cent will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, according to the memo.
The White House previously said that Oracle, which was co-founded by President Trump’s supporter Larry Ellison, will license TikTok’s recommendation algorithm as part of the deal.
The deal comes after a series of delays.
Business Post reported in April 2024 that the administration of President Joe Biden passed a law to ban the app over national security concerns, unless it was sold.
The law was set to go into effect on January 20, 2025 but was pushed back multiple times by President Trump, while his administration worked out a deal to transfer ownership.
President Trump said in September that he had spoken on the phone to China’s President Xi Jinping, who he said had given the deal the go ahead.
The platform’s future remained unclear after the leaders met face to face in October.
The app’s fate was clouded by ongoing tensions between the two nations on trade and other matters.
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