The Politics of Inequity: Science, Transparency and Travel Bans

The statement criticizes the imposition of travel bans on Southern African countries, asserting that such measures are ineffective at stopping mutations and cause significant economic damage. It highlights the disparity in vaccination rates between Africa and advanced economies, calling for the decentralization of vaccine manufacturing, the implementation of a WTO intellectual property rights waiver, and a shift from unilateralism to collective global action to ensure equitable vaccine distribution.

• Travel bans imposed on Southern Africa were implemented precipitously before the variant was discussed at the WHO and failed to stop the pandemic's spread, as the virus was already circulating in countries like the UK, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
• The travel bans caused substantial economic losses, including an immediate loss of approximately $62 million in Christmas season travel bookings, adding to existing record unemployment in South Africa.
• There is a stark inequality in vaccination rates, with Africa having vaccinated only 6.66% of its population compared to 66% in Europe and 67.5% in North America; South Africa specifically has vaccinated 23.66% of its population.
• The authors advocate for the decentralization of vaccine manufacturing and the transfer of know-how to developing countries, arguing that the COVAX facility was overly dependent on a single supply source, the Serum Institute in India.
• A proposal for a temporary WTO waiver on intellectual property rights for vaccines, sponsored by South Africa and India in October 2020 and supported by over 100 countries, has been stalled by a few pharmaceutical-producing advanced economies.

APA

AKUM, F., MTHEMBU, P., SIDIROPOULOS, E., AGGAD, F., ABIMBOLA, O., BELLO, O., & OWUSU-GYAMFI, M. (2021). The Politics of Inequity: Science, Transparency and Travel Bans. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-politics-of-inequity-science-transparency-and-travel-bans/

Chicago

AKUM, Fonteh, Philani MTHEMBU, Elizabeth SIDIROPOULOS, Faten AGGAD, Olumide ABIMBOLA, Ola BELLO, and Mavis OWUSU-GYAMFI. The Politics of Inequity: Science, Transparency and Travel Bans. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2021. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-politics-of-inequity-science-transparency-and-travel-bans/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=AKUM |first1=Fonteh |last2=MTHEMBU |first2=Philani |last3=SIDIROPOULOS |first3=Elizabeth |last4=AGGAD |first4=Faten |last5=ABIMBOLA |first5=Olumide |last6=BELLO |first6=Ola |last7=OWUSU-GYAMFI |first7=Mavis |title=The Politics of Inequity: Science, Transparency and Travel Bans |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=2 December 2021 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/the-politics-of-inequity-science-transparency-and-travel-bans/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{akum2021politics, author = {AKUM, Fonteh and MTHEMBU, Philani and SIDIROPOULOS, Elizabeth and AGGAD, Faten and ABIMBOLA, Olumide and BELLO, Ola and OWUSU-GYAMFI, Mavis}, title = {{The Politics of Inequity: Science, Transparency and Travel Bans}}, publisher = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/the-politics-of-inequity-science-transparency-and-travel-bans/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }