Nurse Nosipho Khanyile dons her PPE before entering the “Red Zone” at the special COVID-19 Field Hospital in Nasrec, Johannesburg. Image by IMF Photo/James Oatway, July 24, 2020, (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Editor’s note: This is a two-part analysis on the politics behind Africa’s procurement of the COVID-19 vaccines. The continent was forced to look towards China, rather than the West. Read Part I here.
China has deep historical roots when it comes to medical aid in Africa.
For example, at the peak of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia in February 2014, China sent medical supplies, health aid and workers to those troubled African countries. This assistance from Beijing drew the appreciation of then-President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who reportedly said, “China has always stood with Liberia as a true friend.”