Coronavirus Pandemic, Featured
By Anayo Ezugwu
THE United Nations envoy to West Africa and Sahel, has expressed regrets over the state of health facilities in Africa. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, special representative, United Nations Secretary-General and head, United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, UNOWAS, says that Coronavirus has exposed the rot in the continent’s health sector.
Speaking at the Ishmael Yamson and Associates Businesses Roundtable in Accra, Ghana on Wednesday May 27, Chambas noted that the incapacity of the health sector has been compounded by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. “Taking the healthcare system as one of the governance issues, you would agree that it has been subjected to perennially low levels of investment with the effect of considerably weakening its capacity to meet even the basic healthcare needs of the population.
“This incapacity is compounded during moments of crises. Given the correlation between health and security and health and human development, this is worrisome. You would recall that 19 years ago, African states in the Abuja Declaration committed to allocating 15 percent of their annual expenditure to healthcare.
“Unfortunately, even after the Ebola crisis, which was supposed to be a wakeup call and a call to action to fix the deficiencies in our healthcare systems and other governance challenges, Member States are still failing to meet this commitment. If the healthcare systems of richer and developed countries have been overwhelmed by this pandemic, one can only imagine the debilitating effect it has on systems of poorer and less developed countries like those in our region.
“I am certain you can provide additional examples relating to the education sector and the provision of basic amenities such as water and electricity. The question I guess is, if Ebola was the nudge, will COVID-19 provide the ultimate push required for individual states, the region and continent to engage in long term, profound and meaningful changes to our governance and economic systems that would exponentially lead to human development and make us build back better?
“Or, are we going to witness another prolonged period of amnesia in governance and policy making once the pandemic has subsided? These are some important questions that I think would have to be answered,” he said.
Chambas called on African leaders to find innovative ways going forward as the impact of the pandemic becomes even more evident. For instance, he said the continent is witnessing disruptions to critical political processes such as presidential elections planned for 2020, including here in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea and Niger.
According to him, the disruptions to the voter’s registration process and the electoral calendars could be real. He acknowledged that tensions and disagreements linked to voter’s registration prior to the pandemic are expected to exacerbate under the current circumstances because of the disruptions caused by the pandemic and measures instituted to address it.
“Elections Management Bodies will come under increased scrutiny and pressure if these disruptions are not handled carefully as this may heighten resentment and the possibility of violence. This explains why consensus building is key in addressing the impact of the pandemic on the electoral process as well as in guaranteeing the legitimacy and credibility of the process and its outcome.
“In Ghana, for instance, the need for dialogue among stakeholders cannot be overemphasized due to increased polarization on the political scene, particularly on the issue of voter registration and the potential for a constitutional crisis in the event of a postponement of the elections. Addressing the potential impact of the pandemic on this important phase of the process and the entire process should be a priority. It is therefore imperative that solutions are consensual and guarantee inclusiveness.”
Beyond the political impact, Chambas noted that the pandemic has implications for human rights. According to him, while restrictions and other enacted measures are permissible under national and international human rights law, their application and enforcement by security forces have come under criticisms.
According to him, there have been unfortunate instances of deaths and injury occasioned by the excessive use of force by security forces in the region. “In Nigeria for instance, the National Human Rights Commission reported that at least 29 people were killed between 31 March and 4 May during enforcement of lockdown measures with security forces responsible for a majority of the deaths.
“These actions have consequences on the respect of human rights. As the UN Secretary-General himself has said referring to the pandemic and its response, “It is an economic crisis, a social crisis and a human crisis that is fast becoming a human rights crisis,” he said.
– May 29, 2020 @ 16:59 GMT |
Tags: How COVID-19 exposes deficiencies in our health sector – Ibn Chambas
