South Africa, hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic with more than 100,000 deaths, has recently been at the center of a debate over the transparency of vaccine sales contracts. The South African NGO Health Justice Initiative (HJI) won its case in court, forcing the disclosure of vaccine supply contracts. These were put online by the NGO, highlighting the inequalities of treatment by pharmaceutical companies.
One of the points raised by the Health Justice Initiative concerns vaccine prices. According to the NGO, the AstraZeneca vaccine, produced by the Serum Institute of India, was sold to South Africa at a price two and a half times higher than to Great Britain, i.e. just over 5 dollars per dose. Similarly, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would have been sold at 10 dollars per dose, or 15% more than European prices. These figures have been disputed by the American company, which claims to have respected a price of 7.5 dollars. Finally, the doses of Pfizer would have cost 33% more to South Africa than to the African Union.
The context of quantities ordered and research and development agreements may explain these price differences, but the NGO considers that the conditions are “unreasonable” and “unethical”, given the global pandemic situation. In addition, some contracts stipulate that South Africa must seek permission before donating or selling doses already purchased, which is criticized by the Health Justice Initiative.
Despite these conditions deemed unfavorable, the South African Ministry of Health maintained that these contracts had been made with the aim of “saving lives”. Low- and middle-income countries often have limited bargaining power to gain access to vaccine doses.
These revelations highlight the inequalities that persist in the distribution of vaccines, highlighting the need to further promote transparency and fairness in negotiations between countries and pharmaceutical companies.
The case also raises questions about vaccine pricing policies, highlighting the importance of putting in place mechanisms to ensure equitable access to vaccines worldwide.
Continued efforts to address inequalities in access to vaccines and ensure equitable distribution of doses are essential to overcoming this global pandemic and protecting everyone’s health.