STATEMENT BY BRETT HERRON, GOOD SECRETARY-GENERAL
15 June 2021
WORLD LEADERS NEED TO PLAY THEIR PART IN INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF VACCINES.
The President’s announcement of increased restrictions was unavoidable as lapses in our adherence to the health protocols, and the slow roll out of the vaccine, has led our country into a deadly third wave of resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With infections rising rapidly and hospitals, especially in Gauteng, reporting capacity constraints our country is yet again forced to endure restrictions on movement, economic and social activities in order to contain the resurgence.
The South African situation is not unique, as many countries have faced third waves and continue to live and work under similar restrictions, but the haphazard roll out of our vaccine makes the prospects of containment and stability much more difficult to achieve.
Our vaccine programme has faced several set backs placing the spotlight very firmly on global vaccine supply constraints and global health service inequality.
South Africa, together with India, have been advocating for a global intellectual property rights waiver for the purpose of expanding access to vaccines. The President used his recent visit to the G7 summit to push world leaders to support a limited waiver in the interests of global health and to overcome this virus.
Access to basic health care, that includes a vaccine against a rampant vaccine affecting the entire world, is a human right that cannot be denied because of vaccine supply and demand.
The TRIPS Waiver must be dealt with urgently by the WTO so that we can all enjoy an expedited response to the pandemic.
As behavioural change fatigue becomes increasingly difficult to manage, even under the threat of criminal charges for non adherence, our best bet to emerging from this third wave with lives saved and economic damage mitigated and avoiding a December fourth wave, is mass vaccination.
Saving lives and saving emerging economies, like South Africa’s, requires a global agreement that vaccinations should be more easily, more readily and more abundantly available.
This is not a battle that South Africans can battle alone. It is a battle for the whole of humanity to be engaged in.
Ends…