Immunising one country and leaving the rest to their fate: not enough to protect citizens

The author contends that nationalistic responses to Covid-19 are insufficient and that the G20, chaired by Saudi Arabia, should convene to coordinate fiscal, monetary, and scientific efforts. The text emphasizes the vulnerability of Africa's public health systems and calls for the establishment of a global medical stockpiles reserve to address long-term health inequality and supply chain failures.

• The author argues that treating global health as a global public good is essential, as nationalistic efforts to secure vaccines for a single country are insufficient to protect its citizens given that a pandemic "knows no border".
• The document proposes that the G20, under the leadership of Saudi Arabia and in coordination with future presidencies in Italy (2021) and India (2022), should convene a virtual meeting with the WHO to coordinate communication, adopt common fiscal and monetary approaches, and expedite vaccine development.
• To address long-term global health inequality and the failures of "just-in-time health supply chains", the author suggests the G20 spearhead the creation of a global medical stockpiles reserve.
• Africa is identified as the most vulnerable continent due to fragile public health systems and the presence of conflict-affected countries, where isolation and quarantines may cause significant suffering for the poor.
• The document notes a lack of sustainable financing for the WHO contingency fund for emergencies, which had disbursed approximately $9.5m by mid-February, and mentions the World Bank’s pandemic emergency financing facility of about $450m.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2020). Immunising one country and leaving the rest to their fate: not enough to protect citizens. https://saiia.org.za/research/immunising-one-country-and-leaving-the-rest-to-their-fate-not-enough-to-protect-citizens/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Immunising one country and leaving the rest to their fate: not enough to protect citizens. 2020. https://saiia.org.za/research/immunising-one-country-and-leaving-the-rest-to-their-fate-not-enough-to-protect-citizens/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Immunising one country and leaving the rest to their fate: not enough to protect citizens |date=20 March 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/immunising-one-country-and-leaving-the-rest-to-their-fate-not-enough-to-protect-citizens/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2020immunising, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Immunising one country and leaving the rest to their fate: not enough to protect citizens}}, publisher = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/immunising-one-country-and-leaving-the-rest-to-their-fate-not-enough-to-protect-citizens/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }