Posted on August, 20, 2021 at 09:09 am
Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has taken over as the chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) with a call to tackle inequalities in accessing Covid-19 vaccines.
President Chakwera, who took over from Mozambique’s Fillipe Nyusi at the 41st Sadc summit held in Lilongwe on Tuesday, Malawi, said the disparities in accessing Covid-19 vaccines was “seriously hindering efforts to save the lives of millions in the Sadc (region).”
The Malawian leader said Africans had a moral duty to refuse to be treated as second-class in the global economy.
“And now, as the world faces this global health crisis that has killed millions, torpedoed economies and disrupted social order, we as Africans have a moral duty to reject second-class status in the distribution and production of Covid-19 vaccines, vaccines invented and manufactured in labs where some of the scientists doing such work are Africans,” President Chakwera said in his acceptance speech.
“So, the time has come for us to insist that a vaccine that preserves and sustains a person’s basic right to life belongs to all nations, no matter who discovered it.
“It is our considered view that the Sadc we want is untenable without levelling the playing field on the Covid-19 pandemic, revitalising the agriculture sector, enhancing value addition, facilitating trade and simplifying rules of origin.”
South Africa has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Africa while several Sadc member states are battling a third wave of the pandemic.
Several countries in the region are also struggling to vaccinate their populations due to difficulties in accessing Covid-19 vaccines.
Meanwhile, President Nyusi thanked Sadc for deploying troops to help fight Islamic insurgents in Mozambique’s northern region of Cabo Delgado.
Sadc countries started deploying troops early this month after a special summit in June approved the deployment.
Rwanda also deployed 1 000 soldiers and police officers last month and the intervention is already paying off as the Islamists are being flushed out of swathes of territory in Cabo Delgado.
“We congratulate countries of the region for the brotherhood and prompt solidarity demonstrated by the deployment of the Sadc Standby Force capabilities in the spirit of the Sadc Mutual Defence Pact, which was launched on August 9, 2021 in Pemba City, Cabo Delgado province,” President Nyusi said.
“We are aware of the need to complement these military interventions with immediate humanitarian assistance and investment in development in the medium and long term, along with the prevention and awareness of citizens against this scourge.”
At the summit, Botswana’s Elias Mpedi Magosi replaced Stergomena Lawrence Tax as Sadc executive secretary.
Source: The Citizen