Don’t punish Africa for Omicron, other coronavirus variants – Adesina

The president of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, says Africa is not the source of COVID-19 first discovered in Wuhan, China. 

Adesina, in a tweet Sunday, said: “Africa should not be labelled and penalized for COVID-19 variants and mutations that occur randomly elsewhere in the world. Africa is not the source of COVID-19.”

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His tweet was sequel to the travel ban imposed on Southern African countries by the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and some Asian countries as part of a response to Omicron. 

“There must be global justice, equity & fairness in access to vaccines. Global vaccine supply system has underserved Africa. Protecting one’s home alone in the midst of a forest fire does not work. Put out the forest fire,” he said.