Paris summit mobilises finance, vaccines for Africa ‘New Deal’

French president calls for waiving of COVID vaccine patents so Africa could begin to produce its own jabs after talks with than 20 African leaders in Paris.

A Paris summit Tuesday promised to help Africa overcome the coronavirus pandemic with a “New Deal” using global financial firepower to replenish depleted coffers and ramp up a sluggish vaccine rollout. The summit, which brought together African leaders and global financial institutions, launched “a New Deal for Africa and by Africa”, host French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference. According to the latest AFP news agency tally from official sources, there have been a total of nearly 130,000 coronavirus deaths among African populations during the pandemic, compared with almost 3.4 million worldwide, although experts believe the official tolls in African countries could be undercounts.