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Home Opinion Ghana Still Leads Africa, By Emmanuel Yawe

Ghana Still Leads Africa, By Emmanuel Yawe

by Tom Chiahemen
0 comment 6 minutes read

On March 6th 1957, Kwame Nkrumah led his team of Ghanian nationalists who had fought heroically with him to achieve independence from Britain. Formerly known as the Gold Coast, Ghana gained independence from Britain in that year, becoming the first sub-Saharan nation to break free from colonial rule.

“At long last, the battle has ended!  And thus, Ghana, your beloved country is free forever!” he declared.  Even at that early stage, Nkrumah’s decision for Ghana to play a leadership role in Africa was evident in his independence speech when he said, “OUR INDEPENDENCE IS MEANINGLESS UNLESS IT IS LINKED UP WITH THE TOTAL LIBERATION OF AFRICA.”

Late Kwame Nkrumah

Nkrumah was not allowed to achieve the dream he had of liberating the whole of Africa. Those were the days of military take-over of power in Africa and his government was one of the early victims. But for all the vagaries of military adventurism into governance in Africa, Ghana has remained the beacon of hope in Africa. It is considered one of the more stable countries in West Africa since its transition to multi-party democracy in 1992.

Just last week, Ghana received the world’s first delivery of coronavirus vaccines from the United Nations-backed COVAX initiative. The arrival of 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the country marks the beginning of the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history, according to the World Health Organization and UNICEF. It is a linchpin of efforts to bring the pandemic to an end and has been hailed as the first time the world has delivered a highly sought-after vaccine to poor countries during an ongoing outbreak.

“Today marks the historic moment for which we have been planning and working so hard. With the first shipment of doses, we can make good on the promise of the COVAX facility to ensure people from less wealthy countries are not left behind in the race for life-saving vaccines,” said Henrietta Fore, executive director of UNICEF, which delivered the vaccines.

But the initiative, formed to ensure fair access to vaccines by low- and middle-income countries, has been hampered by the severely limited global supply of doses and logistical problems. Although it aims to deliver 2 billion shots this year, it currently has legally binding agreements only for several hundred million shots.

Ghana is among 92 countries that will receive vaccines for free through the initiative, which is led by the WHO; Gavi, a vaccine group; and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. Another 90 countries and eight territories have agreed to pay.

Ghana, a nation of 30 million people that has recorded 81,245 cases and 584 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, plans to begin vaccinations on March 2. Neighboring Ivory Coast will be the next to receive vaccines, and also will roll them out starting next week.

Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo

“The government of Ghana remains resolute at ensuring the welfare of all Ghanaians and is making frantic efforts to acquire adequate vaccines to cover the entire population through bilateral and multilateral agencies,” Ghana’s acting minister of information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said in a statement.

That freneticism has been echoed across the continent of 1.3 billion people, as deliveries have fallen behind schedule and African nations have scrambled to secure vaccines from various sources. Only about seven of 54 have begun vaccination campaigns.

Some activists have also expressed serious concern about the COVAX initiative’s goal of only giving enough shots to cover about 20% to 30% of the population in countries that receive donated doses. They have warned that even if the program is successful in distributing those vaccines, those countries will remain vulnerable to continued coronavirus outbreaks since most experts guess that at least 70% of people will need protection from the virus to reach herd immunity.

And experts have noted that even if richer countries reach some level of herd immunity, everyone will remain vulnerable as long as there are pockets of COVID-19 anywhere in the world.

“We will not end the pandemic anywhere unless we end it everywhere,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Today is a major first step towards realizing our shared vision of vaccine equity, but it’s just the beginning. We still have a lot of work to do with governments and manufacturers to ensure that vaccination of health workers and older people is underway in all countries within the first 100 days of this year.”

The vaccines delivered Wednesday are the first of some about 7 million doses being produced by the Serum Institute in India for some 20 countries, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

In our dear country Nigeria the coming of the virus last year immediately claimed ten lives including that of Abba Kyari, President Buhari’s Chief of Staff. This sparked off a race by companies and billionaires falling over each other with contributions to assist the Federal Government of Nigeria in the fight against the pandemic.

The sum of N25.8 billion according to information obtained from Central Bank of Nigeria was donated by 107 Nigerian companies and notable individuals, as relief fund to combat Coronavirus in the country. Among the biggest early donors were the CBN and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, both of whom contributed N2 billion each. Other notable companies and prominent billionaires also donated N1 billion each, including Tony Elumelu, Modupe & Folorunsho Alakija, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Segun Agbaje, Herbert Wigwe, Oba Otedeko, Femi Otedola, Mike Adenuga, Jim Ovia, Raj Gupta, John Coumantatous, MTN Nigeria, and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC.

The government on its part ceded its powers to handle the COVID pandemic to the powerful PTF headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF.

During the #Endsars riots last year, looters targeted state warehouses across Nigeria stocked with COVID-19 relief supplies should already have gone to the poor and hungry.

There were accusations of food hoarding or plans to sell the supplies. Those for Benue State were found to have been sold to some merchants in Kano.

When we witness such things happening in Nigeria, you begin to wonder why we cannot be as transparent and honest in doing government business like Ghana is. That is the only pass to play a leadership role in Africa.

Source: NATIONAL ACCORD

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