By Jerry Omondi
Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has emboldened the continent and assured its nations that it has the capabilities to deal with emergencies of such magnitude, according to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
President Ramaphosa made the remarks as part of a letter to South Africans, in which he also rallied the continent to work together to tackle current and future challenges.
“It [COVID-19] has reminded us that we have world-class institutions like the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention that must be supported and capacitated to fulfill their mandates,” said the South African President.
“It has shown us how fragile our global partnerships can be, particularly in a global emergency.
“Most importantly, it has strengthened our collective resolve to step up pressure on developed economy nations to give us not charity, but our just dues.”
Africa, with a population exceeding 1.2 billion people, had recorded 11,104,160 COVID-19 infections by Monday, with 10,254,788 recoveries. The continent had registered 246,584 fatalities.
Compared to other regions, Africa’s COVID-19 numbers have remained lower.
At the start of the pandemic, there were dire predictions about Africa’s ability to withstand the health impact of the pandemic. These have largely failed to materialize.
In his letter, President Ramaphosa pointed out some of the theories pushed forward to explain the low numbers, including the continent’s relatively young population and rapid response by the African Union to the pandemic.
He told South Africans that the continent’s leadership would continue pushing for vaccine equity as a means to tackle the pandemic, even as processes continue to have production started locally.
“Africa has found a new voice. It is bold and unapologetic in its expectations of our partners. At the same time, we are determined that Africa’s challenges must be, are being, and will be, solved by Africans themselves,” said President Ramaphosa.
