Geneva, 4 November 2021 (dpa/MIA) - The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) doled out sharp criticism of Covid-19 vaccine producers on Thursday as poorer countries struggle to catch up with vaccinations. Producers should prioritize the COVAX programme, "not shareholder profit," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva. Poorer nations have so far received just 0.4 per cent of vaccine stocks but make up 9 per cent of the world population. Tedros said he had heard various excuses as to why this is the case, including that certain countries' vaccination programmes were not ready. However, this was true for only a few countries, he added. Producers also argue that these countries have not ordered any vaccines - but the WHO chief pointed out that they are relying instead on the COVAX scheme to access them. COVAX has the funds and contracts to secure Covid-19 vaccines. "But manufacturers haven't played their part," he said. Tedros called on producers to stop selling their drugs to countries where more than 40 per cent of the population are already vaccinated, and to only resume such sales only once the other nations had reached 40 per cent with the help of COVAX.