Why Russia’s Vaccine Diplomacy Failed Africa – OpEd

Despite the fact that Russia developed Sputnik V becoming the first registered Covid-19 vaccine, the vaccine lacks WHO approval due to lack of transparency of Russian laboratories and getting approvals before mandatory phase III clinical trials.

Sputnik V has little impact in Africa and currently no African country is manufacturing the vaccine so far. Further Russia has stayed completely outside the COVAX Facility and has played no significant role in vaccine donations.

Sputnik V is registered in several African countries, however Russia is not able to meet the increasing market demand and to make prompt delivery on its pledges to external countries consequently, it’s vaccine diplomacy has failed Africa.

In contrast EU has not only exported and donated vaccines, becoming the largest exporter of vaccines and the second largest donor to low- and middle-income countries and the EU has also financed the development of vaccines production in Africa.