SADC Summit Tackles Vaccine Hoarding, Mozambique Insurgency

Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has urged southern African leaders to increase efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic calling on wealthy nations to stop hoarding vaccines. Chakwera was speaking at the annual summit of the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe. Chakwera, who is also SADC's current chairperson, said it was concerning that, despite the devastating social and economic impact of the Covid-19, wealthy nations continue hoarding vaccine. Statistics show that less than 2% of Africa's population is fully vaccinated. That is low compared with the rest of the world.  Chakwera blamed it on inequalities and disparities in the distribution and production of Covid-19 vaccine.

The summit also aims to promote regional trade and building a regional defense force after its first deployment to fight insurgents in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province. Since October 2017, northern Mozambique has been suffering violent attacks by armed militants. At least 700,000 people, including at least 364,000 children, are now displaced in the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala and Zambezia as a result of violence and insecurity. At least 2,852 people have reportedly died in the conflict, including 1,409 civilians, although this number includes only reported deaths and it is expected that the true number is much higher.