Thuli Madonsela: It’s an indictment that Africa must settle for other continents' Covid-19 vaccines
Image: Puxley Makgatho
Former public protector Thuli Madonsela has voiced her opinion about Africa receiving Covid-19 vaccines from other continents, saying this was “an indictment”.
Madonsela’s comment comes a week after the African Union (AU) announced it secured 400 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines for the continent from the Serum Institute of India (SII).
The doses are in addition to the 270 million doses the AU secured early last month.
On Monday, SA received its first million doses of the vaccine from the SII. It secured another 20 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, taking the total on order to more than 42 million.
Madonsela said while this was good news for the continent, Africa was “settling” for being “a market for other continents”.
“It’s an indictment that Africa, with remarkable talent and the Ebola experience, must settle for being a market for other continents regarding Covid-19 vaccines and other innovations,” she said.
This is not the first time Madonsela has weighed in about the vaccines.
Last month, she told CapeTalk the government should not put all its hopes on a Covid-19 cure and instead emphasise prevention to fight the spread of the coronavirus.
She said while SA should be concerned ahead of the rollout of vaccines, “it is not as bad as it looks”.
Madonsela did, however, admit “government could have managed the situation better”.
Her latest comment was met with mixed reactions on Twitter, with some agreeing.
Here is a snapshot of some of the reactions: