President Cyril Ramaphosa Says SA Must Meet the Vaccine Target to Close Economic Gap
- President Cyril Ramaphosa recently highlighted the issue of access to Covid 19 vaccines that developing countries are experiencing
- Ramaphosa told world leaders that failing to meet Covid 19 vaccination targets poses a global health security risk
- President Joe Biden of the United States has promised to provide 500 million vaccinations to poor countries in need
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JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa will need to meet the Covid 19 vaccination target of getting 70% of the country's population vaccinated by December if we are going to close the economic gap.
Ramaphosa was speaking at the virtual Covid 19 Summit addressing other world leaders.
Source: Getty Images
He added that failing to meet the vaccination target would result in the economic gap widening between countries and would also lead to a global health security threat, according to a report by eNCA.
World leaders had previously pledged to have 70% of the world population vaccinated by next year, Ramaphosa highlighted the 10% target that was set out in May has still not been reached.
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At the summit, Ramaphosa also addressed the issue of access to vaccines between countries. He stated countries that have been able to buy vaccines in bulk have been at a better standing when it comes to getting their populations vaccinated.
Ramaphosa also addressed the issue of wealthy nations stockpiling vaccines while poorer countries struggle to meet their populations' vaccination needs. According to Ramaphosa, the African region represents 2% of the six billion Covid 19 vaccinations that have been distributed worldwide.
Speaking at the same summit, President Joe Biden announced that the United States will procure an additional 500 million Covid 19 vaccines will go to countries like South Africa that are struggling to secure vaccines for their populations, according to a report by Reuters.
The new pledge will bring the US's donations of Covid 19 vaccines to 1.1 billion doses.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says 700k jobs have been created during the pandemic
Briefly News previously reported that despite South Africa's high unemployment rate, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that jobs were created during the pandemic.
Ramaphosa said that job opportunities were created largely because of the R500 billion social and economic package that was introduced last year.
Speaking at a Cosatu central executive committee meeting Ramaphosa stated that the package allowed for 700 000 jobs to be created in South Africa, reports SowetanLIVE.
Reports show that since the Covid 19 pandemic, 1.4 million jobs were lost in this period. This pushed South Africa's unemployment rate to 34.4%, one of the highest unemployment rate globally.
Ramaphosa told those in attendance at the four-day meeting that the South African government was focused on efforts to get as many people vaccinated against Covid 19 and to finally overcome the pandemic.
He also reaffirmed that getting vaccinated was not a requirement and that employers have to respect the rights of those who make the choice not to get vaccinated despite more and more workplaces considering to implement mandatory vaccine policies.
Source: Briefly News
