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Who’s listening to WHO?

Lifesaving jabs: The country has had to work hard to secure each dose PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG
Lifesaving jabs: The country has had to work hard to secure each dose PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

Rich nations first ignored the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) call to pause COVID-19 vaccination booster shots to allow the rest of the world to catch up. This week, they brushed aside WHO’s requests to suspend vaccinating children, so that regions like Africa can increase shots to adults. Staff Writer, MBONGENI MGUNI asks who’s listening to WHO?

“Countries with few or no vaccine supply constraints should consider the issues of global equity when making policy decisions about vaccinating children and adolescents,” WHO said in a statement on Wednesday.

“In the context of ongoing global COVID-19 vaccine supply constraints, the focus of immunisation programmes must remain on protecting sub-populations at highest risk of hospitalisations and deaths.”

Editor's Comment
Child protection needs more than prevailing laws

The rise in defilement and missing persons cases, particularly over the recent festive period, points not merely to a failure of policing, but to a profound and widespread societal crisis. Whilst the Police chief’s plea is rightly directed at parents, the root of this emergency runs deeper, demanding a collective response from every corner of our community. Marathe’s observations paint a picture of neglect with children left alone for...

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