thoughts out of season

it’s almost two years now since covid 19 left China to spread across the world and in its wake, it has left dead bodies spread across the world, battered economies, lockdowns and more lockdowns and of course vaccines. It is interesting how vaccines have become a hot political debate but that’s not the thought out of season.

Imagine for a second that covid arose first in Africa and given the abandon with which countries close their borders for travel just at the sneeze of a new variant, would we have a vaccine by now? Or would Africa have been left to fend for itself- which is not a bad thing in itself- with borders closed until such a time WHO would declare the threat addressed?

While on this line of thought, would such an action result in a change in the way African governments deal with their universities and research institutions? Would there be an increase in funding to these institutions to build and develop home grown solutions to emergencies and disease? Would Africa and Africans learn to ease border travel between them or would we have had a replica of the same where Kenya closes its border with Uganda and Tanzania. South Africa closes its borders for all Africans except if you are rich. And North Africa closes its border for anyone whose skin is not pale?

Or maybe I am wrong. The world would have been open to Africa. Big pharmaceutical companies would have worked on the overdrive to produce vaccines and make their patents open source to ensure rapid development of vaccines and cures for the poor Africans. African governments would realise the futility of silly border rules across Africa and work to ease travel to save their economies and maybe only a few people would have died and the world would be a much better place.