World must avoid blaming Africa for under-vaccination while denying continent jabs: Expert

On Saturday, a South African expert stated that the international community should not blame African countries for being under-vaccinated while still restricting their access to vaccines. Last week, the World Health Organization expressed worry about the newly detected Omicron variant of coronavirus in South Africa - which has a low vaccination rate of 7.5%. Solly Moeng, an Africa Brand Summit Convener, claimed that many developing countries are having difficulty in obtaining vaccines.

"Africa is denied vaccines and can be still blamed by the world for not being adequately vaccinated, which is absurd," he was quoted as saying by the news agency, Sputnik. 

According to Moeng, the developed countries have acquired large quantities of vaccines that developing countries wish to buy but are unable to do so. "There is seriously something wrong with the situation which needs to be addressed", he added. Moeng claimed that the way announcement for the Omicron variant was made had a negative influence on the world and harmed African economies a big time.

He stated that the scientists were unprepared and that they believed it was critical to announce the new viral strain as soon as possible. "Many businesses in the tourism and hospitality travel sector are paying a high economic price which is a matter of serious concern. Regardless of whether one's action is good or noble, one must consider the potential consequences of it," he added. Moeng went on to say that the government and other entities working on the COVID pandemic in South Africa lacked clarity and cooperation. 

There is prejudice towards Africa: Moeng

Furthermore, the reputation management consultant stated that one needs to understand that there is prejudice towards Africa - or anything originating from Africa. Moeng also stated that Africa has had significantly fewer COVID casualties than the rest of the world and that South Africa still has restrictions in place. He said crowds are still being tightly managed in stadiums in South Africa, whereas, at least 2,000 individuals are allowed to enter stadiums in other nations. 

"They are far more careless than we are. So, I believe there is a global prejudice against or lack of trust in South African or African capabilities, which is unfortunate. And I believe that these travel bans only demonstrate that prejudice and preconceived notions still exist and this inequality is a big problem," he concluded as per Sputnik.  

(Image: AP/Twitter/@@Solitoliquido)