France to double COVID-19 vaccine doses for poorer countries

Francewilldoublethe number ofvaccinedosesit will send topoorercountriesto 120 million, President Emmanuel Macron pledged on Saturday, in a video broadcast during the Global Citizen concert in Paris.

"The injustice is that in other continents, obviously, vaccination is very late," he said. "We have to go faster, stronger.

"Francepledges todoublethe number ofdosesit is giving," he added. "We will pass from 60 million to 120 milliondosesoffered."

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That amounted to more than thedosesso far administered inFrance, he said.

On Wednesday, the United States announced that it would be doubling its donation ofvaccinedoses, bringing its total contribution to 1.1 billion.

President Joe Biden described the pandemic as an "all-hands-on-deck crisis," adding "we need other high-incomecountriesto deliver on their own ambitions".

The European Union has committed to distributing 500 milliondoses.

And China's President Xi Jinping, in a video message broadcast to the UN on Tuesday, pledged a total of two billiondosesby the end of the year, repeating a figure already given by the Chinese authorities.

It was not made clear how many of those would be sold and how many donated.

More money for Africa: Macron

In his statement, Macron also said thatFrancewould work with the UN's children's organisation UNICEF in their efforts to help Africancountriesorganise their vaccination roll-out.

Francewould also redirect 20 percent of the special funding it received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) towards projects designed to restart the economies of Africancountries, said Macron.

"If all the major powers do the same asFrance, we will reach 100 billion dollars for Africa," he added.

Finally, Macron pledged thatFrancewould spend 330 million euros to promote education inFrance.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, has repeatedly denounced the injustice of the massive imbalance in the distribution ofvaccinedosesin rich and poorcountries.

"I will not stay silent when the companies andcountriesthat control the global supply ofvaccinesthink the world's poor should be satisfied with leftovers," he said earlier this month.

African leaders pleaded for the chance to buyvaccinedosesfor their people during a meeting of the African Union earlier this month.

According to an AFP tally drawn from official sources, Africa's 53countries, with a population of more than 1.3 billion people, has had a total of 10vaccinedosesper 100 people.

In contrast, the United States and Canada, with a population of just over 368 million people, has had 120dosesper hundred people.