Nigeria, April 19 -- COVAX, the global initiative to coordinate the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in an equitable way, is crucial for bringing the pandemic under control.

But COVAX's aim of delivering 2 billion doses to participating countries by the end of 2021 - including 92 low-income countries that can't afford to buy vaccines directly from manufacturers - is threatened by chronic under-investment, vaccine nationalism and export restrictions.

COVAX is not intended only for low-income countries: Canada has so far received 316,800 doses through the scheme.

As such, it represents an important "insurance policy" for Australia, potentially enabling access to a wider portfolio of vaccines than we could secure through negotiations wit...