UPDATE: WHO Says Africa Will NOT Be A Testing Ground For Vaccine
As we previously reported, two French doctors faced some serious heat for suggesting that Africa should become a testing ground for a COVID-19 vaccine. The remarks sparked major public outcry all over social media and even from public figures in Africa.
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“Africa isn’t a testing lab,” Ivorian professional football player Didier Drogba, who used to play for Chelsea, wrote on Twitter. “I would like to vividly denounce those demeaning, false and most of all deeply racist words.”
Although one of the doctor’s, Jean-Paul Mira has apologized for his comments, WHO has come forward to condemn those “racist” remarks. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made it very clear that “Africa can’t and won’t be a testing ground for any vaccine.” When asked about the doctors’ suggestion during the WHO’s coronavirus briefing, Dr Tedros became angry, calling it a hangover from the “colonial mentality, “ according to BBC:
“It was a disgrace, appalling, to hear during the 21st Century, to hear from scientists, that kind of remark. We condemn this in the strongest terms possible, and we assure you that this will not happen,” he said.
According to the latest updates, the total confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa are 10,268. At least 1,002 have recovered and 491 have been confirmed dead, according to Africanarguments.org citing WHO; Johns Hopkins.
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