The Omicron Shame: Why is the World Punishing instead of Helping Africa?

By Ramzy Baroud

The choice by a number of governments throughout the globe to institute journey bans on seven African international locations, beginning on November 27, because of the discovery of a brand new Covid-19 variant, Omicron, was perceived to be hasty within the eyes of some and absolutely justifiable on medical grounds, within the view of others. Nonetheless, the matter is hardly that of a distinction of opinion.

The swiftness of choking off a few of Africa’s poorest international locations, together with Botswana, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, is especially disturbing if positioned inside a correct context in regards to the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic on the World South, typically, and Africa, particularly.

“I’ve determined we’re going to be cautious,” United States President Joe Biden informed reporters on November 26, to clarify the brand new journey restrictions imposed by Washington. “We don’t know so much concerning the variant besides it’s a nice concern, appears to unfold quickly.”

Though acknowledged in well mannered and diplomatic phrases, the rationale by principally Western governments to stop residents from these seven African international locations is paying homage to the January 2017 determination of former US President Donald Trump to stop residents of seven Muslim-majority international locations – three of them from Africa – to enter the US primarily based on the flimsy and, in fact, outright racist logic, that by doing so, the US would be capable to repair its issues.

On the time, Trump made a name for “a complete and full shutdown of Muslims getting into the USA till our nation’s representatives can determine what’s going on”.

The South African International Ministry instantly lashed out on the groundless determination to isolate the nation earlier than even understanding the character of the brand new variant. In truth, on the time, and till the writing of this text, not a single demise has been instantly linked to Omicron. Examine this to the Delta variant, which was first found in India and quickly unfold in the UK, producing a lot demise and devastation, but compelling no rapid choices to isolate Delta-infested international locations.

“Wonderful science must be applauded and never punished,” South Africa’s overseas ministry mentioned in a press release, including that the journey bans have been “akin to punishing South Africa for its superior genomic sequencing and the power to detect new variants faster”.

Talking to the BBC, prime African Union official, Ayoade Alakija, asserted, and rightly so, that the unfold of the brand new variant is the direct consequence of the deep inequality that characterised the struggle towards the pandemic from its very onset.

“What’s going on proper now could be […] a results of the world’s failure to vaccinate in an equitable, pressing and speedy method. It’s because of hoarding [of vaccines] by high-income international locations of the world, and, fairly frankly, it’s unacceptable,” Alakija mentioned, including that “these journey bans are primarily based in politics and never in science”.

In truth, serving to Africa in its vital struggle towards the pandemic ought to have been accomplished in a extra systematic trend as a part of an inclusive international technique. Alas, little of that has transpired. From the very begin, wealthy international locations just like the US, European states, China and Japan had supplied monetary packages to maintain their economies afloat. At occasions, they supplied direct monetary assist to all of their residents to make up for the rising unemployment and extended closures. Africa, as a result of pre-existing international inequality and widespread poverty, couldn’t afford such luxuries. Worse, African international locations have been the final to obtain life-saving vaccines.

As an alternative, the entry to vaccines in Africa was perceived as a type of charity, relegated to a dialogue pertaining to the kindness and goodwill of wealthy Western international locations. Disappointingly, the principle counter-measure to the deep inequalities, which positioned Africa at its present financial drawback within the first place, was represented by the COVAX program, sponsored by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Improvements (CEPI), World Well being Group (WHO) and the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), amongst different charities.

COVAX, which was launched in April 2020, was triumphantly described as an efficient platform “to speed up the event and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines, and assure honest and equitable entry for each nation”.

Twenty months later, one can effortlessly observe that COVAX failed in its mission to supply poor and creating international locations with safety from the pandemic. This isn’t a judgment on the construction, conduct or sincerity of COVAX, however an indictment on those that insist that one can apply the identical requirements of financial and social exploitation on a lethal pandemic that doesn’t differentiate between race, nationality or class.

“As richer international locations roll out booster photographs, 98% of individuals in low-income international locations stay unvaccinated. Covax […] has contributed simply 5% of all vaccines administered globally and not too long ago introduced it will miss its 2 billion goal for 2021,” Rosa Furneaux and Olivia Goldhill wrote in a current article revealed in Quartz.

Based on knowledge revealed by Reuters, in Lesotho – one of many African international locations focused by the brand new journey bans – solely 14.5 % of the full inhabitants is absolutely vaccinated. Zimbabwe and Botswana are only some steps forward, with percentages of twenty-two.6 and 29.4 respectively, nonetheless fairly removed from the goal herd immunity threshold that was initially estimated to be about 60 to 70 % of the inhabitants.

Almost two years have elapsed for the reason that Covid pandemic struck, but the world insists on going through a worldwide disaster with nationalistic and politically-driven options. The truth that we proceed to wrestle towards the virus and its variants signifies that the standard pondering has utterly failed. For the pandemic to be lastly defeated, we have to abandon the mindset of wealthy vs. poor and north vs. south. For the world to be saved, all of us should be saved collectively.

Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He’s the creator of 5 books. His newest is “These Chains Will Be Damaged: Palestinian Tales of Wrestle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons” (Readability Press). Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Analysis Fellow on the Middle for Islam and World Affairs (CIGA) and in addition on the Afro-Center East Middle (AMEC). His web site is www.ramzybaroud.web