{"id":161993,"date":"2021-11-13T15:45:58","date_gmt":"2021-11-13T15:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.one.org\/africa\/covids-aftershocks-clinical-trials-in-africa-cop26-and-ethiopia\/"},"modified":"2024-01-25T12:50:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T12:50:46","slug":"covid-clinical-trials-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.one.org\/africa\/stories\/covid-clinical-trials-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID’s Aftershocks: Clinical trials in Africa, COP26, and Ethiopia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Top news<\/h2>\n

Dose deployment:\u00a0<\/strong>Johnson & Johnson will\u00a0make its vaccines available<\/a>\u00a0for NGOs to deploy in conflict settings, waiving liability restrictions that have previously prevented nongovernmental actors from administering them. The US government will also donate an additional 1.5 million J&J doses to people in conflict settings.\u00a0Significant hurdles<\/a>\u00a0remain in actually deploying vaccines in conflict zones, including security risks for humanitarian workers and establishing networks to share inoculation site information.<\/p>\n

Ignoble Prize:\u00a0<\/strong>Diplomats are\u00a0desperately trying to avert an all-out civil war<\/a>\u00a0in Ethiopia. At least 16 UN workers and their families\u00a0have been detained<\/a>\u00a0in the country, days after Nobel Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed encouraged citizens to take up arms and\u00a0\u201cbury the terrorist TPLF.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Arbitrary detentions of ethnic Tigrayans have\u00a0spiked since Abiy declared a state of emergency<\/a>; authorities can hold anyone suspected of supporting \u201cterrorist groups\u201d without a warrant. Ethiopia has the highest COVID caseload in Eastern Africa, and just\u00a01.17% of the population is fully vaccinated<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Arms race:\u00a0<\/strong>Meanwhile, the Chinese Defense Ministry\u00a0donated 300,000 COVID-19 vaccines\u00a0to the Ethiopian government\u2019s troops. It\u2019s one of more than 30 deliveries to 24 state militaries, most of which are in countries with strategic importance for President Xi Jinping\u2019s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. No other country has donated vaccines directly to other militaries on this scale. The donations coincide with other military aid, including medical training, scholarships, personal protective equipment, and ventilators.<\/p>\n

Rich countries first:\u00a0<\/strong>The UN climate agency\u00a0published the first draft of the COP26 deal<\/a>, which will be finalized on Friday. The agreement calls for countries to phase out coal and fossil fuel subsidies and nods to developing countries\u2019 needs for increased financial resources to combat climate change. But it doesn\u2019t include\u00a0\u201cclear and unambiguous commitments\u201d<\/a>\u00a0that will hold leaders\u2019 feet to the fire on 2030 emission reduction targets. Sub-Saharan Africa contributes just 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, so when it comes to fossil fuel cuts, it\u2019s the first time we\u2019ll endorse\u00a0rich countries going first<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Esprit de corps:<\/strong>\u00a0US Secretary of State Antony Blinken\u00a0announced a new Global COVID Corps<\/a>, in which private companies will take up the mantle (pro bono) to ease some tarmac-to-arms vaccination hurdles in developing countries. This includes sharing expertise on supply chain management and optimizing vaccine sites. Moderna has\u00a0faced a brutal learning curve<\/a>\u00a0in global logistics that could be particularly insightful if they participate.<\/p>\n

Trials on trial:\u00a0<\/strong>Just\u00a0150 of the 2,000 clinical trials<\/a>\u00a0for COVID treatments are in Africa, which significantly limits the continent\u2019s access to approved medicines. Perversely, Africa\u2019s low vaccination rate (6.3%<\/a>) demands \u201ceffective therapeutics for COVID-19 as an option more than any other continent.\u201d Strict regulatory regimes, logistical issues, and a dearth of both adequate technical supplies and willing participants make it more complicated to run clinical trials in low-income countries.<\/p>\n

Prescription for disaster:\u00a0<\/strong>Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is having a renaissance in Africa amid the pandemic, which could be a\u00a0\u201cprescription for disaster\u201d<\/a>\u00a0for endangered species like leopards, pangolins, and rhinoceroses. Many remedies used in TCM are plant-based, but demand for products like rhinoceros horns has long made the commodity\u00a0more valuable than gold or heroin by weight<\/a>, despite having\u00a0no proven medicinal value for humans<\/a>. South Africa, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Togo signed agreements with China to promote TCM, and South Africa and Namibia have recognized it in their public health systems.<\/p>\n

Recovery dividends:<\/strong>\u00a0Kenya\u2019s largest bank\u00a0launched a $4.48 billion loan program<\/a>\u00a0to help 5 million small and medium-sized businesses recover from the pandemic.\u00a0Experts argue<\/a>\u00a0that loans geared toward tech investments for Kenya\u2019s farmers, informal businesses, and gig workers will have the biggest recovery dividends.\u00a0Nearly 1 in 30 Kenyans<\/a>\u00a0lost their livelihoods in the first few months of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Testing, 1-2-3:\u00a0<\/strong>Africa CDC is launching a\u00a0\u201cvast campaign of extensive testing\u201d<\/a>\u00a0that will deploy 200,000 COVID tests across the continent in the next six months. They aim to close the knowledge gap on infection hotspots during a relative lull in infections, as many countries recover from a third wave and brace for their fourth.\u00a0Fewer than 1 COVID test is administered per 1,000<\/a>\u00a0people daily in most of Africa. Digital self-reporting tools,\u00a0like those used successfully in Ghana<\/a>, can help fill in the blanks where tests aren\u2019t available.<\/p>\n

Bracing for the wave:\u00a0<\/strong>South Africa officials are\u00a0clamoring to increase their vaccination rate<\/a>\u00a0ahead of an anticipated fourth wave next month.\u00a0Twenty-one percent of the country<\/a>\u00a0is fully vaccinated and 65% of adults 60+ have received at least one dose, which should ease pressures on the healthcare system. The fourth wave should be less fatal than the third, and\u00a0even a 50% reduction would result in 55,000 official deaths<\/a>. Seven African countries, including Kenya, Somalia, and Mauritius, are\u00a0already in the throes of a fourth wave<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Blood money:<\/strong>\u00a0The tobacco industry contributed $300,000 to Zambia\u2019s COVID relief efforts in exchange for tax benefits,\u00a0according to a new report<\/a>. Experts argue that this is \u201cblood money\u201d: Taxation of tobacco products is typically a steady source of revenue, and it is the most effective way to reduce use. Prior to the pandemic, tobacco use accounted for\u00a020% of male deaths worldwide<\/a>\u00a0and was gaining ground in sub-Saharan Africa. Mid-pandemic, the industry also sabotaged control legislation in Tanzania, and forged new trade agreements in Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

The numbers<\/h2>\n