COVID-19 Vaccine Inequity by the Numbers
Inequity in vaccine access is a reality, just take a look at the graphs below. Compared to the countries in the global north where FINCA has offices—the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, vaccination rates in developing countries are incredibly low.
As of mid-September, across the 40+ countries where FINCA and its partners provide life-changing services, only 5.7 percent of people are fully vaccinated, and another 3.7 percent of people are partially vaccinated. There are also significant regional discrepancies in the data.
Vaccine Inequity in Latin America and Asia
Nearly 29 percent of people are fully vaccinated in the five Latin American nations where FINCA has a presence. A further 9 percent had only received a portion of their vaccine. In Asia, 11 percent of people are fully vaccinated, while the remaining 8 percent are partially vaccinated. Then there’s Africa’s Sub-Saharan region, as well as Haiti.
Africa and Haiti Have the Highest Rates of Vaccine Inequity
The 24 countries in sub-Saharan Africa where FINCA works have a population of more than 900 million. Fewer than 12 million of them have been fully vaccinated, with another 12 million having been partially vaccinated. This equates to 1.27 percent of the population receiving full vaccination and 1.35 percent receiving partial vaccination. And those abysmal rates are better than Haiti. Haiti was the world’s last country to begin vaccinations. Only about 40,000 persons out of a population of 11.5 million have received even a single dosage of vaccination.
With Your Help, FINCA is Combating Inequity
Many developing countries will have to wait a long time to gain the benefits of a partially vaccinated, let alone completely vaccinated, population. FINCA is not directly engaged in the fight against vaccine inequity. We are, on the other hand, deeply active in the fight against poverty and in assisting the world’s underprivileged in overcoming this pandemic. Your continued support for the women and men FINCA serves is crucial now more than ever as they continue their long fight against COVID-19.
Data accessed from Our World in Data on September 16, 2021.
