by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – SOUTH Africa’s Siyabuya movement has urged the government to fly COVID-19 vaccines to remote rural areas to speed up its vaccination campaign.
The movement believes this can be done using small aircraft and helicopters.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has thus been urged to follow the example of the Airborne Lifeline Foundation, which is doing that in Botswana and elsewhere in Southern Africa.
“They (government), or somebody like them, should be doing it here,” said Melene Rossouw, a leader of the Siyabuya movement.
“We need to get as many South Africans as possible protected by vaccinations as soon as possible,” she added.
“Unless we do that, the country will continue to be vulnerable to the virus, to new variants like Omicron and to job-destroying lockdowns.”
Jonathan Miller, a former Peace Corps director in Botswana, started the Airborne Lifeline Foundation.
For eight years it flew medicines and medical staff to remote areas in Botswana, Malawi and Zambia.
It is now distributing COVID-19 vaccines in remote parts of Botswana, and is looking to do the same in Malawi, Namibia and Zambia.
“This is an innovative solution to a problem facing many African countries, including South Africa. We should add this to our vaccine distribution network as soon as possible,” Rossouw said.
Siyabuya is an organisation that believes South Africa can emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The country is on the verge of a fourth wave.
It has confirmed over 2,976 million cases, including 8 9871 deaths.
– CAJ News