If COVID-19 has taught us a lesson, it is that time is absolutely not on our side. Nobody was ready for this pandemic even though it was predicted by UN experts decades ago. With COVID-19, time has both stood still and accelerated at the same time. Our lives have been disrupted almost to the breaking point.
The major paradox is that the world has never been so cooperative and mobile (ideas wise) while stuck for most of us at home. The research has never gathered such a pace and cooperation even between fierce competitors. The challenges joined the band wagon. Every day, we have a new challenge ahead and even solutions (vaccines) can be a problem.
In rich countries, they have secured enough vaccines to inoculate their populations multiple times, but they face logistical problems and vaccine resistance by their populations. In low- and medium-income countries, vaccines are scarce at best and no serious contingency plan is in place yet to organize the distribution, including ensuring the cold chain. Now, 12 months ago, nobody would have dreamt that our problem would be vaccine distribution. We must be grateful for this “problem”.
So, there is light at the end of this long tunnel, but that same light has brought to the fore an inconvenient reality. COVID-19 has been a big equalizer on the surface but, in reality, it brought to the spotlight the stark inequalities between the “have and have nots.”
As the United Nations Secretary-General put it in a very eloquent manner, we may be on the same sea but for sure not on the same boats. One positive element of the pandemic is that the importance of digitalization and access to broadband internet is crucial to keep basic public services alive through e-health, e-education, e-administration. These technologies require reliable power supply. This aspect is a well-documented problem in many parts of Africa.
The lack of access to reliable power is a major hurdle towards the achievement of the Agenda 2030 and 2063 sustainable development goals. We cannot emphasize this issue enough. This crisis has also shown that once a crisis is global, Africa can only count on its resources. Hence, domestic resources mobilization is more critical than ever as well as to place the focus of attention on illicit financial flows as a potential source of huge amounts of funding that, at the same time, empowers African countries and contributes to strengthening institutions and preventing conflicts by curbing ‘illegal economies’.
These resources have to be geared towards human capital, the building block to equitable societies. COVID-19 has created the opportunity to place human capital at the center of policy making in Africa. The disruptions caused by the pandemic have highlighted the relevance of education and health as basic services for all societies. They have also proved that pre-existing inequalities, such as those that are gender-based, grow because of exogenous shocks, and weaken the societies’ capacity to respond to crises.
Thanks to COVID-19, nobody can deny any more how the digital divide impact livelihoods directly. It’s not a figurative way of speaking. It translated to a total loss of access to education or healthcare for millions of African children and youth, a toll that will be hard to repair. Governments cannot further postpone policies to bridge the digital divide as a top priority to build resilient economies and societies. This pandemic has been to social issues what a dark room is to a negative picture, a revealer. There was a before and after COVID-19.
The reality in Africa before COVID-19 was already dire. According to a World Bank’s Service Delivery survey, fewer than 20% of teachers master the curriculum they teach, Health providers misdiagnose on average 50% of basic conditions with which they are confronted and only 40% of health facilities have access to clean water, energy, and improved toilets.
The use of artificial intelligence could help with improving diagnosis and e-learning could enhance teachers continuous learning. As for access to clean water, it requires reliable power to sanitize the water supply and it is the number one problem by far. Worldwide, over 300,000 children die yearly from diarrhea because they are lacking access to safe water and sanitation.
But before addressing this long-standing issue, the urgent task on African shoulders is to have a plan for the vaccine distribution as I am confident that the COVAX will deliver on its promises to ensure equitable vaccine distribution worldwide. The world has understood that no one is safe until everyone is safe.
That being said, the logistical challenge remains huge. The COVAX programme represents up to four to five times UNICEF’s current monthly flows if the vaccines have to get distributed in a six-month period. To meet the challenge, governments will have to leave their comfort zone to deliver. It will require exceptional measures which most governments are not formatted for.
While addressing the logistical issues, governments will have to continue containment measures. With COVID-19, success is the only option: the inclusive and efficient distribution of safe vaccines is imperative for restoring economic recovery and protecting lives and it will require unprecedented coordination between governments, private sector, civil society, academia and media.
Without mobilizing society and the private sector the problem will not be addressed, particularly in Africa where we need to encourage asset sharing, where indicated and as appropriate, to resolve bottlenecks and fill potential gaps in the vaccine supply chain.
This will include consolidating air cargo volumes, deploying refrigerated containers, sharing re-icing facilities and warehouse spaces, or consolidating last-mile volumes to name but a few.
All these measures will require preclearance, airspace clearance, documentation, and training. It sounds challenging and it is, but with COVID-19, failure to deliver is not an option.
This will include consolidating air cargo volumes, deploying refrigerated containers, sharing re-icing facilities and warehouse spaces, or consolidating last-mile volumes to name but a few.
All these measures will require preclearance, airspace clearance, documentation, and training. It sounds challenging and it is, but with COVID-19, failure to deliver is not an option.