By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
2020 will long be remembered in the annals of history because of the Covid-19 pandemic. As that year drew to a close, the Covid-19 vaccine made its debut in several countries.
The question we need to ask, however, is whether the disease will wane as quickly as it spread if this vaccine is not made available to everyone. Will countries who have the “bargaining power” to obtain the vaccine quickly be adversely affected should poorer countries not have equal access to the vaccine?
In an interview with Vatican News, we asked Father Charles Chilufya to shed some light on the current situation in Africa, and specifically in Kenya, regarding Covid-19. Father Chilufya is the Coordinator of the Africa Task Force of the Vatican Covid-19 Commission, and the Director of the Justice and Ecology Office of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madasgascar, also known as JCAM.
As in the past, Africa has faced difficulties in responding adequately to the Coronavirus crisis. “Clearly, poor countries like those in Africa,” Father Chilufya explains, “especially the most densely populated ones like Nigeria, Kenya, and others, lack medical infrastructure and resources.” They are always “left vulnerable” and at the “mercy of wealthier states,” he says. “And this is not the first time.”
“Access to health facilities is a longstanding battle being fought on the African continent in particular. The issue, therefore, here is, in fact, not only about access to drugs but also access to general health facilities.”
Father Chilufya followed this statement up with two specific examples:
● Kenya: the recent strike of medical personnel in Kenya “complaining of insufficient protection as they watched some of their colleagues succumb to Covid-19”. Other reports cited Doctors in Kenya describing their jobs as “suicidal”, while others who contracted Covid-19 cannot afford the same care they have been providing to other Covid-19 patients.
● Liberia: during the ebola outbreak (2014-2015), medical workers “used plastic bags instead of medical gloves to protect themselves. And several deaths were reported among health workers in government-run health care centers.”
“Failures like these…not only violate health rights of patients but also put health workers and their family at risk.”
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here
In recent weeks, I have been teaching a course in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences called Introduction to International Relations. And in the
By Charlie Chilufya, S.J Tomorrow, YouTube Originals will release the grand documentary film, The Letter, telling the story of the Laudato Si’ encyclical letter and the unfolding ecological emergency of our time and how it
By Mwansa Chalo, My name is Mwansa Chalo, a young African economist and entrepreneur participating in the Economy of Francesco 2022 event in Assisi, Italy. Looking
By Charlie Chilufya, S.J More than a dozen young changemakers under the aegis of JENA are participating in the Economy of Francesco (EoF) 2022 event. The 22nd to 24th September
The Economy of Francesco 2022 event is here! It happens after three years of life, work, waiting, projects, proposals, desire; after two years of a
The close link between food security and peace and stability cannot be overlooked. Over the years, countries and regions with failed peace and stability are
Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah | June 24, 2022 | Barron’s The 2022 G7 leaders’ summit began on Sunday in Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps and was set
By Bryan P Galligan, S.J In early June 1972, world leaders met in Stockholm, Sweden for the first-ever global conference on the environment and sustainable
By Charlie Chilufya, S.J. During this Week of the Environment, from the 30th of May leading up to the 5th June, the World Environment Day, nations of the
By Kevin Okoth Ouko and Fr. Charles B Chilufya, SJ Global food commodity prices, especially those global grain and vegetable oil prices, have reached record
JENA works towards a just, poverty-free and
ecologically regenerative Africa where people can unlock their full potential, free from direct, cultural, and structural violence.
