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The government had previously refused to be part of the Covax initiative
Burundi, one of the last countries in the world to start vaccinating its population against the coronavirus, has said it has agreed to take the Covax vaccines but with one condition.
The change of mind came a day after the IMF agreed in principle to a $ 78 million (€ 65 million) aid package to help Burundi cope with the fallout from the pandemic.
Health Minister Thaddee Ndikumana announced on Wednesday that Burundi would accept the Covax vaccines offered by the World Bank, but would refuse to sign a waiver which he said was required by pharmaceutical companies.
Burundi, along with Eritrea and North Korea, are the only countries to have yet started vaccination campaigns against Covid-19, after Tanzania began rolling out vaccinations on Wednesday.
Until now, the government had refused to be part of the Covax initiative, saying it did not want vaccines that were still “at the experimental stage”.
In a major turnaround last year, President Evariste Ndayishimiye declared the coronavirus “the country’s greatest enemy”.
Ndayishimiye and his predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza, who died suddenly in June 2020 amid speculation he had contracted Covid, had previously played down the severity of the pandemic, saying God had spared Burundi from its ravages.
But the country still rarely gives data on coronavirus infections. The latest, released on July 13, reports a total of 5,723 cases and eight deaths.
“When the vaccines are there, any Burundian who wishes can go there (and get vaccinated),” Health Minister Thaddee Ndikumana said.
Burundi will take advantage of a World Bank financing mechanism to allow developing countries to collectively purchase Covid vaccines through Covax.
But the minister insisted that Burundi would not sign a form which he said would commit the government to compensate the victims of the “unwanted” side effects of the vaccines.
Details of the document and its requirements were not known and it was not immediately clear whether Burundi would not take the vaccines if it were forced to sign the waiver.
When asked about the matter, Africa CDC director John Nkengasong said he had not seen the document and could not comment on the details, but were ready to help monitor the vaccine rollout.
“We are ready to work with Burundi to provide them with technical assistance so that they can deploy vaccines in all dimensions and not only review vaccination but also monitor the effects of vaccines in the future,” he said. he said at a joint press conference. conference with the World Health Organization regional office for Africa.
The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday it had agreed in principle – subject to higher IMF approval – to a $ 78 million credit facility to deal with “the economic impact. and social “of the pandemic in Burundi.
The country’s economy shrank by around 1% in 2020, according to the IMF.
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