Big Interview
Another important yet often unaddressed point that must be made about Africa is political leadership . President Ramaphosa , who also chairs the African Union , convened about 15 meetings of heads of state to talk about the Covid-19 . He appointed special envoys like Donald Kaberuka , Strive Masiyiwa , Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala , etc . He set up the Covid-19 response team and the African medical supply platform spearheaded by Mr Masiyiwa , with most countries on the continent joining the initiatives . Our role at the Africa CDC was to elaborate a continental strategy . Ramaphosa ’ s part was to champion that continental strategy with all of these elements that I ’ ve just listed and that were all accredited under this very strong and political leadership . The continent was very lucky to have him as the chair of the AU at that time , and it is really that strong political leadership that elevated our response .
Let me conclude by saying that the first cases showed up on the continent on the 14th of February . On the 22nd of February , we convened an emergency meeting of all ministers of health in Addis Ababa . Some ministers who were travelling to Europe had to return to Addis Ababa because they recognized that it was important and urgent . When they left on the 22nd , they left with the clarity of purpose and action . They were given clear instructions about what to do when they return to their countries and see any cases .
The continental skies were shut down in March and April of
2020 . Why was that important ? It was important not because that is how you fight a pandemic but because we had nothing . We had no diagnostics . By March 2020 , as a continent , we had conducted less than 200 , 000 tests on a continent of about 1.2 billion . So , we had to take those measures in order to enable us to stockpile the Covid-19 response materials and resources ( like the PPEs , masks , equipment for diagnostics ). That political leadership and the joint continental strategy that we developed were very important . The heads of states endorsed the continental strategy , which was underpinned by cooperation , coordination , collaboration and communication .
PAR : What has happened since ? Because , as you can see , some of these countries in the west are talking about a post-Covid-19 economy . They are back to getting off the masks ; they are back to normal life . And for us , it appears we are going in the other direction . What is happening ?
You know it is very hard to contain these viruses with only public health measures because you have to balance between saving lives and saving livelihoods . The only reason that those countries are beginning to look normal ( for instance , you and I are now watching the European nations cup and young people like you are in the stadium shouting , jumping and hugging ) is because of vaccination . They have vaccinated large chunks of their population . Africa has only fully vaccinated about 1 or 1.5 per cent of its population , which is extremely limited . So , I think that is a very important consideration . So , I mean , we did what we could do . What we were doing in public health measures was to hold a front , keep blunting the spread of the virus as much as possible while waiting for medical interventions , which unfortunately has been extremely delayed .
PAR : Let ’ s talk about that delay -- this vaccine nationalism . I saw a clip by Strive Masiyiwa talking about these countries hoarding vaccines and having more than they need . We are used to a world where these countries promote a liberal trade environment , meaning that if you have the money , you should be able to access what you are looking for . What is happening ?
I would say that several headwinds have blown against us Africans . First of all , it is our inability to manufacture vaccines . We import 99 per cent of our vaccines , produce 1 per cent of the vaccines that we consume , and consume 25 per cent of the world ’ s vaccines . So , when you are hit by this pandemic , and you are relying on somebody else to produce the vaccines - someone who must immunize their own people - to work with you and ensure scientific cooperation and solidarity , you always suffer . That is one .
The second is that when the pandemic started , we said all the right things : fair access to vaccines , and then we set up the COVAX mechanism , which is a mechanism pioneered by the global vaccine alliance , WHO
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