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The pandemic that has ravaged the world, including South Africa, creates unprecedented obligations for the government. Our government did not meet those obligations. The latest example is the clumsy handling of the non-delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine.
In this country, there are two specific duties that the Constitution imposes on our government: the duty to be accountable to those who live here and the duty to claim the right of everyone to have access to health services. This is qualified by the provision that the State must take reasonable legislative and other measures within its available resources to achieve the progressive realization of the right.
Unfortunately, the government appears to have failed to meet these two obligations. It is surprising that President Cyril Ramaphosa did not hold a proper press conference where the press can ask questions about the government’s Covid-19 policy. Remember that these questions are being asked on behalf of an anxious nation. Even Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, neither of whom have an iota of Ramaphosa’s democratic pedigree, have held multiple press conferences about their governments’ Covid-19 policies.
The public has the right to be informed, for example, of the measures that have been taken to launch a vaccine, the widespread distribution of which is essential for any viable recovery of the economy, much less for the prevention of unnecessary deaths. A responsible government doesn’t just employ pieces of media; allows the public through the media to ask a series of questions on issues that affect their lives. You must tell the county how you intend to progressively realize the right of access to life-saving vaccines.
At the Daily Maverick we have attempted to interview members of the Ministerial Advisory Committee. Professor Salim Abdool Karim has replied that he is on vacation (pretty good). From the co-chair, Professor Marian Jacobs, we have not received the courtesy of a reply. We want to ask one of them some serious questions about vaccine policy, to which the public is entitled to direct and specific answers. As members of a body serving the public, it is the least you should do.
And that brings us to the right of access to health services. The narrative told to the public keeps changing. At one point the nation was told that Johnson & Johnson would manufacture millions of doses of the vaccine in South Africa. The story then shifts to some vaccines that will be available late in the first quarter of 2021, and more recently, late in the second quarter. Reports have suggested that only 3% of the population will receive the vaccine from Covax facilities before mid-2021. Yesterday, the New York Times reported that Johnson & Johnson will produce significant quantities of the vaccine in South Africa, but only for the export. Then we are also told that the government is negotiating with some of the pharmaceutical companies. But that’s all we seem to have a right to know.
This is simply not good enough. Given its constitutional obligations, the government must inform the country what plan it has developed to progressively realize the right to health.
At a minimum, there should be responses to the following:
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How many people does the government plan to vaccinate by the end of June 2021 and again by the end of the year?
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How will this number of vaccines be purchased?
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How are vaccines obtained?
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What is the role of the private sector? (For example, will health care plans have the right to buy vaccines directly from vaccine manufacturers?)
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What distribution systems have been implemented to guarantee efficient and equitable distribution?
In a constitutional democracy like ours, the principle of accountability and the right of access to health, particularly for those most in need, impose duties on the government. Or was nothing learned from the nevirapine litigation initiated by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)?
In the context of the current crisis, it is time for the government to treat the entire country with respect. That means informing all of us about how we can get out of the current horror for so many by ensuring a comprehensive and safe vaccination program. As citizens, there may be business details that we are not entitled to. But the current situation where confusion and despair reign is shameful, although not entirely unexpected. DM
