Vaccine row remains between EU, Africa

The European Union and African leaders agreed to a "renewed partnership" at a summit last week with pledges of major investments, but Europe was accused of ignoring calls to waive patents for COVID-19 vaccinations.

"We now have a historic opportunity to look at the basis of a new kind of partnership, a renewed partnership, we want to build together," Senegal's President Macky Sall, who currently chairs the African Union (AU), told a closing press conference on Feb. 18.

The EU has announced mammoth ambitions to mobilize 150 billion euros ($170 billion) from the public and private sectors for investments in Africa over the next seven years as it looks to challenge Chinese and Russian influence, according to AFP.

A final declaration from the Brussels summit said investments would focus on key infrastructure including internet access, renewable energy and transport, but gave few concrete details on funding.

The EU repeated a pledge to give Africa 450 million COVID-19 vaccines by mid-2022 and offered 425 million euros to help health services on the continent deliver the jabs.

But there was no breakthrough at the summit - the first since 2017 - over a dispute around Africa's calls for a temporary intellectual property waiver to allow the generic production of vaccines and treatments.

Europe - the home of some of the major companies behind the vaccines - has opposed the move arguing that the first priority was to build up production capacity in poorer countries.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said EU officials would hold talks in Brussels with counterparts from the AU this spring to try to come up with a solution.

"EU leaders continue to make a song and dance about the importance of their...