At least 56,000 people – that we know of – have died since Covid-19 hit South Africa in early 2020. We can only imagine how many of those lives could have been saved if they had had access to credible public health information from government.
"Understanding how individuals and population groups perceive and make sense of COVID-19 vaccines is critical to inform the design and implementation of risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies, and guide interventions aiming to promote and sustain acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines." Although data show that expected acceptance
First published in Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper
2020. The year the world changed. A year all our lives changed. A year of heightened concern, anxiety and birth, but sadly also a year of too many deaths, many more than usual. Deaths caused by a virus with a crown, called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by scientists, a virus which in turn causes coronavirus disease, also known as Covid-19.
While the world was desperately searching for much-needed quick fixes and ammunition to slay the virus, the wall that stood between utter devastation, hunger and even more death, were people, ordinary people who look like all of us. But ordinary people who could not and did not simply sit at home.
Early morning on 19 December 2020, two days after: The smoke that was lingering from piles of scattered debris yesterday is gone. But this huge area, where more than 1,000 dwellings have been burnt to the ground, still looks like a warzone. Against strict advice by the City of Cape Town officials, some of the 4,000 affected residents have started to rebuild their shacks, others still guarding their space or the few belongings covered with ashes. Mayor Daniel Plato promised to bring in trucks today to clear the debris over the weekend – but what will happen to those who have rebuilt without permission?
One community leader says: “We cannot trust the City. We have to look after ourselves.” Another remembers: “The fire started at B-section of the informal settlement, then extended to C and D. Due to strong winds, it all went so fast. I saw how many men of D-section formed a line along a canal to make sure the fire didn’t go over to their shacks. Everyone was risking their
The collective insecurity generated by the pandemic requires a decisive public health response. This response has, however, tended to apply centralised, top-down and undemocratic decision-making, often using “war” narratives that prompt or reinforce fear, and that promote individual self-protection.
Reactive interventions have not adequately taken local conditions and rights into account, prevented longer-term harms to health including from gender violence nor protected income, food security or social trust.
However, the pandemic also offers an important opportunity to demonstrate that alternative, people-centred, democratic and collective responses are possible. Indeed they are essential, not just to prevent and contain infection and mitigate the impact of the pandemic, but also to “build back” using a stronger, more compassionate and equity-driven form of public health.