Macron and African leaders push for vaccines for Africa after COVID-19 exposed inequalities

By NICOLAS GARRIGA and JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has joined African leaders to kick off a planned $1 billion project to accelerate the rollout of vaccines in Africa. The effort comes after the coronavirus pandemic exposed gaping inequalities in access to vaccines globally. The African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator will provide financial incentives to vaccine manufacturers. Many African leaders and advocacy groups say Africa was unfairly locked out of access to COVID-19 treatment tools, vaccines and testing equipment when the pandemic swept the globe starting in 2020. The project was launched on Thursday.