Fellow Countrymen and Women,
Over a week ago, on 24 November 2021, diligent scientists and talented medical professionals from our neighbouring sister country, South Africa identified a new Covid-19 variant. Befittingly, we owe these men and women a debt of gratitude for their research excellence in identifying this new variant, which has since been code-named Omicron and listed as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization.
Unfortunately, instead of applauding this outstanding achievement by African scientists, certain countries and regions of the world have responded with knee-jerk measures in the form of counterproductive travel bans against our region. The global fight against Covid-19 demands multilateral collaboration, coordination and consultations between nations, and not divisions between regions and citizens. It is in that vein that I call for an end to unnecessary travel bans, which undermine economic recovery; and are not rooted in scientific rigour.
We should come together as ONE world and ONE global village to defeat the common enemy Covid-19.