South Africa — All Publications

Access to Covid-19 Vaccines: the Patent Freeze Proposal and a New Global Strategy

As the vaccination rate rises in Canada and other developed nations, developing countries globally continue to record an upsurge in daily infection and death rates due to COVID-19. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently confirmed that Canada is involved in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) exploration of the Indian and South African proposal to waive intellectual property (IP) rights for COVID-19 vaccines. In a break from tradition, United States President Joe Biden has lent his country’s support to the initiative, amidst reluctance to do the same from the EU. However, Canada remains ambivalent.

Public Health, Africa, and COVID-19

As an African and a Canadian, I inhabit an observatory. I am a resident in two worlds of blunt contrasts. On a good note, daily at every turn, those contrasts offer privileged lessons on the richness and complexity of the human experience, of our world. In this observatory, it is irresistible not to have a geopolitical perspective on the dynamic of Africa’s relationship with the global south. And since the formal declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020 by WHO’s Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the reality of that stark contrast has never been more evident.

Africa, Innovation, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Third Industrial Revolution (3IR) provided perhaps the most significant insights into Africa’s potential to fast-track its march to sustainable development. As with industrial revolutions, the 3IR has further tinkered with international division of labour. Gradually, Africa and indeed economies hitherto considered as periphery – so-called because they were traditional sources of raw materials – are now actors in knowledge-driven competition, which is the hallmark of the 3IR.

The Partnership Imperative for African Innovation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The third industrial revolution (3IR) provided perhaps the most significant insights into Africa’s potential to fast-track its sustainable development. As with previous industrial revolutions, the 3IR has affected the international division of labour. Gradually, Africa and a number of economies on the periphery – so described because they were traditional sources of raw materials – have become actors in a knowledge-driven competition, which is the hallmark of the 3IR.

African Leaders' Blackmail of the International Criminal Court

In the last decade, warlordism has been on the decline in Africa. But terrorism and other forms of political combustion appear to be on the rise. Recent and ongoing disturbances across the continent are flashpoints of both Africa's political vulnerability and the continent's political renewal. As Africa engages its current positive, albeit, controversial economic transition, the tail of its political contradictions within a hypocritical world order continues to wag the continent.

ALL PUblications