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Coloniality of Waithood: Africa’s Wait for COVID-19 Vaccines amid COVAX and TRIPS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2023

Ampson Hagan Open the ORCID record for Ampson Hagan [Opens in a new window]
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Abstract

African nations have struggled to secure lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines, while rich nations have purchased more than they needed, depleting the global supply. High vaccine prices and intellectual property regulations that block the production of cheaper generics have contributed to a condition of African waithood. Hagan examines this waithood, which characterizes the disjuncture between African countries’ existential and humanitarian need for COVID-19 vaccines and corporations’ quest for profits in the pandemic. African waithood, produced by pharmaceutical companies including Moderna and Pfizer, is a direct product of colonialism. Waithood echoes the ongoing colonial relations between African nations and the corporations that continue to exploit them.

Résumé

Résumé

Les pays africains ont eu du mal à obtenir des vaccins vitaux contre la COVID-19, tandis que les pays riches ont acheté plus que nécessaire, épuisant ainsi l’approvisionnement mondial. Les prix élevés des vaccins et les réglementations en matière de propriété intellectuelle qui bloquent la production de génériques moins chers ont contribué à une condition africaine d’attente. Hagan examine cette attente, qui caractérise la disjonction entre le besoin existentiel et humanitaire des pays africains en vaccins contre la COVID-19 et la quête de profits des entreprises dans la pandémie. Cette condition africaine d’attente produit par des sociétés pharmaceutiques telles que Moderna et Pfizer, représente un exemple de colonialisme concret. Cette attente africaine fait écho aux relations coloniales en cours entre les nations africaines et les entreprises qui continuent de les exploiter.

Resumo

Resumo

As nações africanas têm tido dificuldade em assegurar a obtenção das vacinas contra a COVID-19, essenciais para salvar vidas, ao passo que as nações ricas compraram mais vacinas do que precisam, depauperando a oferta mundial. O preço elevado das vacinas e a legislação relativa aos direitos de propriedade intelectual que impedem a produção de genéricos baratos contribuíram para deixar o continente africano em compasso de espera. Hagan analisa este compasso de espera, o qual traduz, por um lado, o desencontro entre a necessidade existencial e humanitária de vacinas contra a COVID-19 nos países africanos e, por outro lado, o empenho das corporações em fazerem o máximo lucro com a pandemia. O compasso de espera africano, criado por empresas farmacêuticas como a Moderna e a Pfizer, é um produto direto do colonialismo. O compasso de espera espelha as atuais relações coloniais entre as nações africanas e as corporações que continuam a explorá-las.

Keywords

waithoodvaccinescolonialismAfricaTRIPSCOVID-19
Type
Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 66 , Issue 2 , June 2023 , pp. 327 - 351
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the African Studies Association

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