Corruption in the procurement, distribution and administration of vaccines can not only be avoided, but stamped out entirely using a standard operating procedure (SOP), created by operators in the extended supply chain, for the clearance of international imports of the Covid-19 vaccines, says South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) chairperson Dr Juanita Maree.

The SAAFF has submitted a proposed SOP to South Africa’s partially State-owned vaccine manufacturer Biovac and Business for South Africa for adoption. The SOP covers the scope, background, prerequisites, and escalation information regarding the import processes.

"These [supply] chains have been exposed to bribery, cronyism, nepotism and embezzlement in the past. The provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) in 2020 was a process so stung by corruption that public confidence in the State plummeted to new depths. Potentially corrupt Covid-19 spending has already cost the country billions of rands, according to law enforcement agencies, and only factors in cases that are being investigated.

"The erosion of trust has meant the management of vaccine distribution is already under severe scrutiny – a situation that needs to be remedied quickly if the rollout is to prove effective. One way to achieve this is by following the lead of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies," says Maree.

For a vaccination strategy to be effective, it is essential that adequate amounts of the vaccine are secured by government and delays are avoided at all costs. This will require monitoring the end-to-end distribution chain once the vaccines arrive in South Africa, coupled with the creation of a dedicated tariff heading to monitor the export and transshipment cycles, she notes.

"We have to maintain the integrity of the cold chain. South Africa's reality is that, to date, the checks and balances required to implement successful procurement, distribution and administration plans have all too often been ignored," she says.