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* Western powers under fire for vaccine hoarding
* Moscow, Beijing pledge to help bring shots to Africa
* Donations relatively small, commercial deals rare and
costly
* Some governments concerned by lack of data
* For a graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/3rCOEDP
By Joe Bavier and David Lewis
JOHANNESBURG, March 12 (Reuters) - Russia and China are
racing to plug the COVID-19 vaccine gap in Africa, hoping to
cement their influence on a continent where many countries have
yet to administer a single shot.
But, so far, vaccine donations from Beijing and Moscow have
been small, the commercial deals they offer are costly, and some
African governments are wary about a lack of data.
As rich countries ramp up their inoculation drives, Africa,
without the resources to pre-order Pfizer, AstraZeneca
, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson
vaccines, is being left behind.
With Western nations facing criticism for hoarding supplies,
flooding Africa with life-saving shots would be a soft-power
coup for Russia and China.
Moscow has offered 300 million doses with financing to an
African Union (AU) purchasing scheme.
Beijing has pledged nearly a quarter of all its vaccine
donations to Africa, according to data compiled by Bridge
Consulting, a Beijing-based health sector advisory.
"This is a vivid manifestation of China-Africa friendship,"
China's foreign ministry told Reuters.
"Africa is one of the key markets for Sputnik V," said the
Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the sovereign wealth fund
marketing its Sputnik V vaccine abroad.
French President Emmanuel Macron says Europe and the United
States risk losing influence in Africa over the issue.
However, John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for
Disease Control and Prevention, cautioned against "vaccine
diplomacy", saying powers must not use token allocations to
curry political influence.
"Africa will refuse to be that playing ground where we use
COVID as a tool to manage relationships," he said on a webinar
hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank in late February.
"It becomes like you're trying to sprinkle water on a very
hot day on children ... Then you can tick the box that you did
that," he said. "That's not what we are after as a continent."
While other developing regions have turned to Russia or
China, in Africa their engagement has translated into few shots
in arms.
Africa has received around 3.15 million shots from China -
or less than 4% of its vaccine exports - Bridge Consulting data
showed.
"The numbers of vaccines China is donating are not going to
move the needle in any of these countries. But it's as much
about the optics," said Eric Olander, co-founder of The
China-Africa Project.
Russia has shipped a total of around 100,000 vaccine doses
to Algeria, Tunisia and Guinea.
The global vaccine sharing scheme COVAX, meanwhile,
delivered nearly 15 million shots to 22 African countries in its
first 10 days.
The facility co-led by the World Health Organization, GAVI
and others aims to ship 35 million doses to Africa by the end of
the month and 720 million by the end of 2021.
That will still only be enough to inoculate those at
greatest risk.
DATA DEFICIT
China's leading vaccines - from the China National
Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and Sinovac - are not yet
approved for emergency use by the WHO. Neither is Russia's
Sputnik V vaccine.
China offered South Africa - the African nation hardest hit
by the pandemic - 2 million shots, its health minister said.
But a government official involved in procurement told
Reuters the lack of trial data meant Chinese vaccines were not
being seriously considered for now. Sputnik V was also relegated
to a second tier of vaccines South Africa says need more study,
according to the health ministry.
Even some countries that accepted donations have shied away
from purchases.
Uganda considered buying Chinese vaccines but is focused on
COVAX due to their cost and the availability of data, said
Ombeva Malande, director of the East Africa Centre for Vaccines
and Immunization, which advised the government. Kenya is taking
a similar line, he said.
Diana Atwine, permanent secretary in Uganda's health
ministry, said authorities would consider affordable vaccines
approved by the WHO.
The head of Kenya's vaccine task force confirmed it was not
in talks to procure Chinese vaccines, and health ministry plans
do not include Russian vaccines.
DOLLARS AND DOSES
While COVAX shots are free for most African nations,
countries doing commercial deals are paying a premium.
Senegal paid $20 a shot for 200,000 doses of Sinopharm, a
two-shot vaccine.
"The worst thing that could happen now is for countries to
not start vaccinating," said Tandakha Ndiaye Dieye, a member of
Senegal's vaccine advisory group, explaining the decision.
By comparison, India's Serum Institute is selling
AstraZeneca shots it manufactures for $3. The Indian government
has also donated over a half million of those shots to eight
African countries, according to a Reuters tally.
Beijing has so far not announced financing packages that
would make vaccine deals more affordable in Africa.
At around $10 per dose, Sputnik V is cheaper, and RDIF told
Reuters it would be even more competitive if subsidised via
COVAX.
RDIF said it was in "advanced negotiations" with the WHO to
be included in COVAX and could offer a one-shot version to
reduce the cost. A spokesperson for GAVI, the global vaccine
alliance helping lead COVAX, said all vaccines would be
considered but they first needed approval from the WHO or
another stringent regulatory authority.
RDIF said some deliveries of the Sputnik V doses offered via
the AU plan could start in May.
A senior AU diplomat told Reuters that talks were taking
place but no agreement had been reached. No details have been
announced about the finance package. RDIF did not respond to
Reuters questions about the potential deal.
Both China and Russia must increase production if they hope
to become major global vaccine suppliers. For Moscow, exporting
shots is politically sensitive when its own population still
needs vaccinating.
"I'm not worried about whether Russia's going to be able to
deliver the doses," said W. Gyude Moore of the Center for Global
Development, a Washington think tank.
"I'm worried about how African countries are going to pay
for them ... COVAX is just not going to be enough."
(Additional reporting by Duncan Muriri in Nairobi, Elias
Biryabarema in Kampala, Alexander Winning in Johannesburg,
Polina Ivanova and Polina Nikolskaya in Moscow, Bate Felix in
Dakar, Roxanne Liu in Beijing, Giulia Paravicini in Addis Ababa
and Kate Kelland in London; Editing by Giles Elgood)
