By Rawlings Magede
A recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that only
over 1 percent of Africa’s population has been fully vaccinated against Covid
19. Africa has a population of over 1 billion. What is worrying is that the total
number of those vaccinated in Africa as compared to other continents is very
low. According to the New York Times Covid 19 tracker,
Africa has the lowest number of doses administered per 100 people as compared
to other continents. Africa has just 3.6% vaccination rate, the lowest out of
the 6 continents.
According to latest figures, a total of 140 040 people have succumbed to
Covid 19 in Africa. While this number is high, it is considerably lower those
other continents such as Europe that have recorded more than 3million deaths
since the covid 19 outbreak. Europe has instituted stricter Covid 19 lockdowns than
Africa yet the fatalities have been considerably high. This development exposes
the efficacy of lockdowns in significantly reducing casualties. More worrying
is that research
has shown that in poorer countries, changes in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
have a much bigger effect on life expectancy than in richer countries. Since
the outbreak of the virus, the clarion call for most African countries has been
“put lives before the economy” which have been used as justification to employ
stricter lockdowns that ignores economic realities. While restrictive lockdowns
might save lives in the short term in higher-income countries with stronger
safety nets and fewer people in poverty, they are much more likely to cost a
large number of lives in lower income ones.
The African Development Bank (AFDB) in one of its recent reports
notes that the GDP of most African countries which had been typically rising
over the years, collapsed in 2020 due to COVID 19 induced lockdowns. Several
economies such as Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Africa
have declined by as much as about 10 %.This is so because the economic activity
for the majority of economies for the countries listed takes place in the
informal economy. Given the overarching role that the informal sector plays in
most of the countries listed in the report, the figures may be underestimates.
In Zimbabwe, according to recent statistics from the Ministry of Health,
a total of 756 291 people have taken the first dose of the vaccine while 518
968 have taken their second dose. While considerable effort has been put in to
ensure that the mass vaccination gains steam, the numbers are still very low to
achieve herd immunity. The government has employed a series of strategies to
try to contain the spread of the virus. More recently, it instituted localized lockdowns
in Kwekwe, Kariba,Karoi and Bulawayo. One of the key take aways from such a
move is that as governments across the world continue to weigh strategies to
contain the spread of the virus is that the most effective strategy in other
parts of the world may not be the most effective in our country. This is particularly
relevant when we look at enforcement strategies, distribution of vaccines and
response mechanisms. In our context, one of the challenges relates to
enforcement of covid 19 measures such as wearing of face masks, adhering to
small gatherings and other related measures. For example, political parties, particularly
the ruling party has continued to push for its voter mobilisation and
restructuring exercise in rural areas where Covid 19 regulations are not observed.
The law enforcement agents have paid a blind eye to this. Such violation of
COVID 19 measures has made the fight against the virus insurmountable.
The surge in Covid 19 infections exposes the laxity and selective
application of Covid 19 regulations. In my view, instituting a lockdown at this
point will have damaging effects given that the informal sector was beginning to
recover. What we need is to strengthen our response mechanisms, put stricter
Covid 19 measures for the informal sector and go on an offensive in
disseminating key information around the vaccines. The issue of vaccine
hesitancy still reigns supreme among the general populace. Law enforcement
officers responsible for enforcing Covid 19 regulations must enforce regulations
without fear or favour. Closely linked to this is the fact that government must
adopt a zero tolerance approach in the fight against Covid 19.Policy makers
must also ensure that while Covid 19 vaccinations are key, mitigation efforts
must also appreciate the need for equitable distribution of resources to other issues
such as soaring unemployment and tackling other diseases that carry a heavy
burden such as malaria, HIV and Tuberculosis.
In the final analysis, in our context, “saving lives” involves
protecting the economy. As COVID 19 continues to inflict fatal blows on our
economy and health, there is need for government to appreciate that we must
learn to live with the virus. It is the new norm that requires collective
effort and cooperation from everyone. Lockdowns will not reduce the rate of
infections but bring loopholes and laxity in enforcement of regulations
Rawlings Magede is a Development Practitioner
who writes here in his personal capacity. Feedback on vamagede@gmail.com
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