South Africa paid Pfizer $10 a dose for a vaccine that other buyers reportedly got for $6.75, and the public wasn't allowed to know that for two years.
It took a court order and a lawsuit from the Health Justice Initiative before the Department of Health released the actual contracts in 2023, showing a government locked into secrecy terms it never freely chose.
The contracts reveal broad protection shielding Pfizer from liability, non-refundable advance payments running into the tens of millions, and terms letting suppliers control exports with little real penalty for late delivery.
In 2021 Pfizer reportedly wanted the government to put up sovereign assets as collateral, a demand the health minister called too risky before it was eventually dropped.
Across four vaccine deals South Africa was on the hook for at least $734 million, negotiated at a moment when walking away was not really an option.
Was this a fair negotiation between equal partners, or a country with no leverage signing whatever it took to save lives.