The African Union's health watchdog has accused world leaders of falling short in their pledge to share coronavirus vaccines with poorer nations, and their failure risked making the disease endemic.

“We cannot continue to politicise this situation by making statements that we do not follow through with firm commitments,” John Nkengasong, head of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said.

“Pledges do not put vaccines into peoples' arms,” AFP quoted him as saying.

“We are not as a continent very keen in any definition of vaccine diplomacy that would mean people make statements in the media that are not backed with reality,” he added.