With reset bilateral relations, the hill country of Rwanda is attracting fresh interest from French business. 



In May, French President Emmanuel Macron’s two-day trip to Rwanda was hailed as historic in helping reset relations between the two countries.



During the visit, Macron acknowledged France’s role in the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994 that left over a million dead. “France has a role, a history and a political responsibility in Rwanda,” he said in a landmark speech delivered at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in the capital, Kigali.



But Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame insisted the visit was about “the future, not the past”. “France and Rwanda are going to relate better to the benefit of our people, politically, economically and culturally,” he said.



Testament to that is a rising French business interest in Rwanda. In the new suburb of Rebero, for example, the Vivendi Group has established a cinema hall, a games center and has plans for a Universal Music Studio. Its internet and media businesses, Canal Box and Canal Plus, is a household name in Rwanda. The group’s business, Bolloré, specializes in warehouse, logistics and customs clearance services.



Roger Nkubito, Bolloré’s General Manager in Rwanda and Burundi, reveals the company has been investing further in the country.



“Obviously, every investor wants to associate with a country that is politically stable. Without good politics, it’s always hard for investors to make quick investment decisions,” he says.



Nkubito admits that the revitalized bilateral ties have inspired the business community from France to do business in Rwanda.



“French companies at this moment are asking whether there is a possibility to have a double tax avoidance agreement signed between the two countries. That wouldn’t have happened without the two countries making efforts to talk to each other,” he asserts.



Nkubito says Bollore Logistics has now set aside $15 million to expand its reach in Rwanda.



“We are investing in the Kigali Economic Free Zone. We have completed the first phase of the project – a big modern warehouse with 10,000 square meters, which has cost us $7 million. The second phase will begin at the end of this year,” he explains.



A few kilometers away, another French firm, Duval Group, has committed millions to set up one of the largest shopping malls in the country.



Duval Group, a family-owned business which already has operations in Cameroon, Senegal, Ghana and Ivory Coast, is one of the latest French players in the Rwandan market.



The company is partnering with local businessman Vicky Murabukirwa for various planned investments.



“We are investing in Rwanda because the political landscape is conducive, the IT infrastructure is advanced, and there’s security. These are some of the key things that have attracted French investors here,” Murabukirwa says. On the cards for the group is a property complex



that will comprise duty-free shops, a four-star hotel, a hypermarket, a food court and other entertainment facilities.



Rwanda is positioning itself as an international financial center and has been working over the years to market itself as a hub for meetings, conferences and events.



According to reports, last year alone, French businesses invested $6.8 million in Rwanda.



“We have a long-term strategic vision towards Rwanda. Beyond Inzovu Mall (the real estate project), we are exploring opportunities in microfinance and insurance sectors,” Eric Duval, the Group’s Founder and Chairman, tells FORBES AFRICA.



BY JULIUS BIZIMUNGU

TOPSHOT-FRANCE-SUDAN-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-SUMMIT

Newer Heights: ‘Every investor wants to associate with a country that is politically stable’

August 9 marks 65 years of the Women’s March in South Africa. The fire and fortitude of the women and girls who walked up the steps of the Union Buildings that day changed the landscape of South Africa. how far have we come – or not – since? We ask these female change-makers about the issues and battles they are championing in the South Africa of today.&nbsp;



SIXTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, ON August 9, 20,000 women and girls of all races, classes, color and creed marched, singing and chanting, some with babies on their backs, and climbed up the steps of the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the seat of the apartheid government in South Africa’s capital city, to deliver petitions to the then Prime Minister J.G Strijdom, against the introduction of apartheid pass laws.



In the throes of apartheid in 1952, the South African government introduced the Native Laws Amendment Act. It was an offence for any African to be in any urban area for more than 72 hours unless they were in possession of a pass that had details of the holder’s identity, employment, place of legal residence, payment of taxes and permission to be in the urban areas. For the first time in South African history, black women were expected to carry passes too.



The march was led by four women; legendary struggle stalwarts Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Sophia Williams-De Bruyn and Rahima Moosa.



“Wathint’Abafazi wathint’ imbokodo”, cried the gathering. “Strijdom, you have tampered with the women, you have struck a rock!”



By the clock tower of the Union Buildings, hordes of women wrapped in ANC colors of green, yellow and black began arriving, with women from the cities, the towns and villages, united in their purpose to save each other from the degradation of passes.



With bated breath and in deafening silence, they watched Ngoyi, Moosa, Joseph and Williams-De Bruyn deposit 100,000 petitions addressed to Strijdom. The march signaled a paradigm shift as women were brought to the fore playing a bigger role in the struggle for freedom and democracy.



In the pages that follow, we look at how a small cross-section of women leaders today interpret the changes they are seeing and the causes they are currently fighting for in South Africa.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-176729601-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52091" width="605" height="402" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-176729601-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-176729601-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-176729601-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-176729601-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-176729601-2048x1363.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /><figcaption>(Photo by Ginko Agency/ www.21Icons.com via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">The glory of how they looked, and their dignity and grace, and that determination in lifting their feet in a place where no other African person had done before… – Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, the only surviving member of the famous quartet – including Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa – that led the 1956 Women’s March, in an interview in the August/September 2014 issue of FORBES WOMAN AFRICA</blockquote>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-893823216-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52089" width="645" height="429" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-893823216-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-893823216-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-893823216-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-893823216-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-893823216-2048x1363.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px" /><figcaption> (Photo credit should read MUJAHID SAFODIEN/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><meta charset="utf-8">We hope this generation we leave behind will do the right thing by honoring all those who gave up their lives…particularly the women who are not always remembered. I wouldn’t have been me had I not met the Lilian Ngoyis of the day. – Winnie Mandela, in an interview in the December 2014/January 2015 issue of FORBES WOMAN AFRICA</blockquote>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kgomotso-mokoenafighting-for-vulnerable-laborers">KGOMOTSO MOKOENA Fighting for vulnerable laborers</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-1-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52084" width="162" height="243" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-1-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-1-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="(max-width: 162px) 100vw, 162px" /></figure></div>



Kgomotso Mokoena is a labor law lecturer and attorney also focused on constitutional, media and intellectual property laws, with a particular interest in the gig economy. Born to parents in exile in Atlanta, United States, she returned to South Africa with her family and graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand before working as a legal clerk at the Constitutional Court and opening her own practice. Now working towards a PhD in labor law at the University of the Western Cape, she says: “Because there are so few jobs, a lot of workers end up getting exploited in relation to the gig economy.”



Currently, the major legislation that regulates their rights falls under the Labour Relations Act and Basic Conditions of Employment Act in South Africa – frameworks that Mokoena says have not been updated to reflect the technological innovations changing the dynamics between workers and employers. Mokoena’s research is focused on bridging this gap – what are the lived conditions of vulnerable workers in the gig economy, what are the levels of unfairness? 



“And how do we fix that from a legislative perspective?” she says. “Personally, my passion is in labor law – specifically with a focus on vulnerable workers. Statistically, women tend to fall into insecure work more than men in South Africa.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">STACEY FRU Fighting for literacy and safety</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-2-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52085" width="273" height="409" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-2-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-2-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-2-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-2-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-2-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-2-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="(max-width: 273px) 100vw, 273px" /></figure></div>



“You cannot learn in an environment where you do not feel safe and secure. Literacy and safety need one another to survive and thrive,” says Stacey Fru on the challenges facing schoolchildren in South Africa today. 



The 14-year-old is a multiple award-winning author, philanthropist, activist and motivational speaker. Having been recognized for her literary work, entrepreneurship and shortlisted for the 2020 International Children’s Peace Prize, some of her most personal and valuable work is through her Stacey Fru Foundation, a charity which aims to improve access to education in rural areas with the provision of food, sanitary materials and books.



Fru’s career began with the writing and publishing of her first book when she was eight years old. Since then, she has published four more, while also campaigning strongly for children’s rights through her ambassadorship with Save The Children. 



However, in her daily life, she faces the same challenges as many of her peers during the Covid-19 pandemic.



“Many of us are unable to go to school. Most of us are just trying our best right now, to attend online classes or just focus for a prolonged period of time.”



Fru has continued to write and collaborate during the pandemic and through the recent unrest in South Africa.



“With the rioting, the Covid third-wave, everything around us is disrupting our daily lives as children. Just hold on, speak to your friends and family; you are never alone in the struggle.”



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading">DORAH MAREMA Fighting for climate change</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-3-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52086" width="526" height="351" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-3-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-3-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 526px) 100vw, 526px" /></figure></div>



“The fact is that climate change does not affect people the same. This is true for the developed versus the developing world, and also true for gender – with women being the majority in mineral areas and subsistence farming as well.”



Dorah Marema has had an illustrious career in gender and environmental activism. Originally from a rural village outside Mopane in Limpopo, South Africa, she began her working life as part of the Transvaal Rural Action Committee, a Black Sash initiative. Her upbringing brought home first-hand experience of the gender disparities in the environmental protection space, and led her to form GenderCC, an international organization working to ensure that gender is fully integrated in climate policy.



She currently works for the South African Local Government Association as the portfolio head for municipal sustainability, a role ever more demanding due to the pandemic and recent unrest.



“And unfortunately,the environment is the one element that gets badly affected because it doesn&#8217;t generate revenue for municipalities, however, is something that is so critical.” Marema’s tireless role does not get her down. Despite the pandemic and the global climate crisis, an optimistic outlook and everyone doing their part mitigate more harm than people think.



“You may think it&#8217;s a small action, but if I do something in your neighborhood, in your city, in your municipality, you start doing something; all that action will add on to a bigger contribution towards already cutting down carbon emissions, and focusing on mitigation, and making sure that we&#8217;re planting trees, that we are taking care of our biodiversity… We can do it, but it has to be done through a multilateral initiative that involves all of the world together.”



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading">PEARL PILLAY Fighting for youth empowerment</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-4-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52087" width="494" height="329" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-4-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Forbes-Women-Feature-4-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 494px) 100vw, 494px" /></figure></div>



“I think when you&#8217;re in student activism, you kind of have your fingers in all of the different pies. I had a really good grounding from there, but also at home,” says Pearl Pillay, director of YouthLab, a policy think tank that aims to create spaces for young South Africans to engage on policy issues affecting them. Having begun as a research intern, Pillay has worked her way to lead the organization, and has been involved in election observation in Liberia and Tunisia, as well as policy work for the African Union – expertise she brings to the South African context.



Closest to her heart are issues closer home. Facing the challenges of the pandemic, YouthLab made a decision to launch programs aimed at supporting democratic development, and building capacity and education in communities for them to exercise democratic rights.



“We go into different communities and take time to teach young people about what it means to be an active citizen, what different democratic tools they have.”



Despite the challenges of the last year and the unique difficulties the pandemic presented, Pillay is optimistic, with YouthLab driving mental health programs to support employed and unemployed youth. “We don&#8217;t often think about wellbeing as development, so prioritizing wellbeing has allowed many to rise to the challenges of Covid. Being able to actually provide something that helps the young, that&#8217;s been a big standout for me.”



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-453831587-707x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-52090" width="357" height="517" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-453831587-707x1024.jpg 707w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-453831587-207x300.jpg 207w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-453831587-768x1112.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-453831587-1061x1536.jpg 1061w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-453831587-1414x2048.jpg 1414w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-453831587-scaled.jpg 1768w" sizes="(max-width: 357px) 100vw, 357px" /><figcaption> (Photo by Danny Martindale/WireImage)</figcaption></figure></div>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">Transformation isn’t an event, it is a process, and these processes have to start with ourselves&#8230; It starts with you, it starts with the way that you actualize yourself, the way that you see yourself, the way you interact with society, how you see yourself within the home, because you very so often find that one has a loud voice when it comes to gender activism, but within the home front, you don’t stand up for yourself. The liberation has to be a mental emancipation first&#8230; It’s not only just the mindset, but we also have to give women the necessary tools to make sure that they progress.– Zindzi Mandela, in an interview for the December 2014/ January 2015 issue of FORBES WOMAN AFRICA</blockquote>

Ramaphosa addresses Womens Day celebrations in South Africa

The 1956 Women’s March In South Africa Still Resonates Today

TOPSHOT-SAFRICA-HEALTH-VIRUS

The COST OF CO₂VID

How do you forgive a man who has killed all your loved ones? Rwanda’s reconciliation efforts have seen survivors and perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against the tutsi living next to each other, healing and transforming. FORBES AFRICA travels to Bugesera to capture one such moving tale.



BY TESI KAVEN Photos by Ridhima Shukla



IT’S ONE THING TO FORGIVE a person who has committed a crime against you, and quite another to reconcile, live next to and even cultivate a strong friendship with the person, especially when he has horrifically claimed the lives of your entire family. 



This scenario is not strange in Rwanda, a country once torn apart by the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, when more than a million people lost their lives. This year, in April, Rwanda marked the 27th anniversary of the genocide, and reconciliation, though unfathomable at one point, has become a concept the country has become known for. On the outskirts of the capital city of Kigali, approximately a two-hour drive away, is a village with a rich history, one that’s not easily given away by the serene and beautiful surrounds. 



<div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile" style="grid-template-columns:41% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="768" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Maria-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51460 size-full" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Maria-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Maria-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Maria-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Maria-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Maria-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content">
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">Someone we thought was a friend offered to help us, but instead, he delivered my husband and children to the killers. – Maria Izagiriza</blockquote>




</div></div>



In what almost looks like a gated community, 110 houses stand at the Rweru Reconciliation Village in Bugesera District. To foster the concept of reconciliation, perpetrators and survivors of the genocide live next to each other. In this village, we meet Maria Izagiriza and Philbert Ntezirizaza. 



Targeted attacks against the Tutsi community had begun long before the 1994 genocide, resulting in mass killings and forced relocations. Among the many affected, was 63-year-old Izagiriza, who lost some of her siblings in killings in 1973 and later, her first husband. 



Widowed at a young age, she later remarried and moved from her birthplace to Bugesera district, where she gave birth to four children. News of the death of the then Rwandan president, Juvénal Habyarimana, was delivered to Izagiriza by a neighbor on that fateful morning of April 7, 1994. She remembers it all as if it was yesterday. 



“My neighbor informed me that the president had died the night before and went on to say that my people were responsible for his death,” Izagiriza tells FORBES AFRICA. “My neighbor said my people and I would pay dearly for what we had done.” 



Indeed, nothing could have prepared Izagiriza, her family and millions of other Rwandans for the atrocities that took place over the next 100 days, following the death of Habyarimana. The militia descended on Izagiriza’s home that morning, killing all her livestock, burning down her house and beating her husband to a pulp, leaving him for dead. The children were miraculously spared. 



She managed to escape through a hole she had created in the mud wall of her kitchen. When night fell, she returned to her compound to get her husband and children. 



“Though breathing, my husband was so badly wounded and bleeding from all parts of his body,” she says, pausing to wipe the tears streaming down her tired face. 



”The children were scared stiff but unharmed.” With the help of her children, Izagiriza somehow managed to drag her injured husband to a hiding place where she felt they would all be safe. This would, however, be the last time she would see her husband and children alive. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4004-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51450" width="393" height="295" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4004-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4004-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4004-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4004-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4004-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 393px) 100vw, 393px" /></figure></div>



“Someone we thought was a friend offered to help us, but instead, he delivered my husband and children to the killers. Again, I managed to escape, but this time, with my four-month-old baby strapped to my back. That was the last time I saw my family alive.” 



Izagiriza’s family was led to a barricade where a group of young, blood-thirsty men were killing people. Among them that day was Ntezirizaza. He was only 18 years old at the time. Hatred for the Tutsi people, he says, was planted in him when he was still very young. 



“In 1994, I was a teenager, my body full of youthful vigor and my mind filled with a terrible ideology, fed to me since I was in elementary school,” Ntezirizaza tells FORBES AFRICA. “Our mindset at that time was more lethal than the machetes we carried.” 



Asked what happened to Izagiriza’s family, Ntezirizaza pauses, then, with a low voice and distant gaze, says: “We hacked her husband and eldest son to death and threw the remaining two children in a deep pit, alive. We knew they wouldn’t survive.” 



A while after the genocide, Ntezirizaza was sentenced to 12 years in prison, after confessing to his crimes. It was while in prison that he met with members of Prison Fellowship Rwanda (PFR), an NGO that sought to unite and reconcile Rwandans. 



“PFR helped us see how deadly the beliefs and ideologies we harbored were and the importance of seeking forgiveness from those we hurt,” he says. 



<div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile" style="grid-template-columns:42% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="768" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4011-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51455 size-full" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4011-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4011-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4011-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4011-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4011-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content">
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">We have built nine reconciliation villages across the country, and they stand not only as a monument of Rwanda’s history but also as an example to future generations that unity and reconciliation can be achieved. – David Nsoro, the communication officer at Prison Fellowship Rwanda</blockquote>




</div></div>



In 2003, six years into his sentence, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame pardoned prisoners who had admitted to their crimes. Though free, guilt kept gnawing on Ntezirizaza’s conscience. 



“I felt like I had been released from one prison and walked straight into another. I had no peace, no rest.” Izagiriza, who had managed to escape to Burundi with her infant daughter, was now back in Rwanda, trying to pick up the pieces of what was left of her life. 



News had reached her while in Burundi that her family was no more, and she battled depression and suicidal thoughts. Just like Ntezirizaza, she met members of PFR, who at the time were building the Rweru Reconciliation Village, to help settle survivors whose property was destroyed and perpetrators who were coming out of prison but with nowhere to call home. Volunteers and pastors from the NGO counseled Izagiriza, helping her to come to terms with what had happened. 



“The PFR team helped me realize that forgiving and letting go was for my benefit. Mentally, they prepared me to meet and forgive Philbert,” she says. “But I must admit, it wasn’t easy.” 



As a sign of remorse for his actions, Ntezirizaza would work on Izagiriza’s farm under the cover of darkness. “I would prepare the farm for planting on one night, then plant the seeds the following night and water them the night after. I wanted to do what the children or husband I killed would have done had they been alive,” he says. 



Eventually, the two had a sit-down session and he narrated all that befell her family and asked to be forgiven. At present, the two are genuine friends. Izagiriza asked Ntezirizaza to be her daughter’s godfather at her baptism. When her daughter got married and walked down the aisle, he was there to witness it all.



The story of Izagiriza and Ntezirizaza may just be one story but it mirrors the experiences of many in the tiny East African hill country. 



It is echoed by countless other survivors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi who have chosen the path of unity and reconciliation, however difficult it has been. 



David Nsoro, the communication officer at PFR, says that seeing the survivors and perpetrators living together in harmony at the reconciliation villages is a huge milestone. 



“We have built nine reconciliation villages across the country, and they stand not only as a monument of Rwanda’s history but also as an example to future generations that unity and reconciliation can be achieved,” Nsoro tells FORBES AFRICA. In his address to the nation on the 27th commemoration of the genocide against the Tutsi, Kagame emphasized on the transformation that had taken place not just in the country, but more in the hearts and minds of Rwandans. 



Said Kagame: “The immensity of what has been achieved is almost miraculous. The results are attested to by Rwandans, and indeed indisputable. But the intangible transformation which has taken place in the hearts and minds of our people is even more important.”

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A Story Of Reconciliation, Healing And Hope

More than a year of remote working has thrown up some new possibilities, and now, talks of a remote working visa to attract digital nomads to South Africa.&nbsp;



When it comes to finding South Africa’s new normal, there is no one-size-fits-all. As employers and employees hastily adapted to the manifold challenges of doing business remotely from the start of the nationwide lockdown last year, novel understandings of work have emerged.



For many, remote work has become a central tenet of life under Covid-19. In one mid-pandemic study by Michael Page, 79% of the South African respondents indicated they worked from home – pre-Covid, only 26% were permitted to do so by their employers.



The dramatic increase in remote work initially raised concerns regarding a loss of employee motivation and productivity, but a substantial body of research now suggests that shifting away from the office may have the exact opposite effect: some 63% of respondents reported increased productivity during lockdown, with many feeling more satisfied and motivated.



For Amanda Maree, Enterprise People Change Manager at Absa, the transition to working from home was eased by consistent, timeous communication and a well-developed Covid-19 strategy.



Equipped with what was called a ‘Thriving Remotely’ toolkit, Maree could call on her organization for more than tech support. She and her colleagues were advised on matters as mundane as the layout of their workspaces at home, and as weighty as the psychological toll of their new circumstances.



“Despite all the chaos around us,” Maree says, “Absa made me feel like I was still a valuable asset, and treated me as such.”



The Robert Walters Salary Survey of 2021 revealed a similarly positive attitude toward remote work. South African employees surveyed in this study noted improvements in their communication skills, technical proficiencies, and productivity – though a quarter (24%) of employers cited declining productivity as their primary reservation regarding long-term remote work.



While finance, management, and IT-related services have successfully navigated the transition to remote work, often with significant increases in productivity (McKinsey, 2021), other sectors have not weathered the migration as well. Strategies for optimizing remote work rely in large part on the ability of an organization to rapidly reconfigure existing infrastructure and to deploy new resources, but there are obstacles that no degree of careful planning can eliminate entirely.



Mia Jansen van Rensburg, a teaching assistant at the University of Johannesburg, has had to replace her classroom with a WhatsApp groupchat.



“The university has been providing mobile data packages to students, but it’s not always possible for them to dial into video calls,” says Van Rensburg. “The data runs out, and some of them live in rural areas with poor coverage.”



According to her, no virtual class can replace on-campus learning.



In a recent survey of South African employees, more than half of the respondents indicated that they were happy to head back to their workplaces – and 40% reported having carte blanche in deciding whether they’d return or stay put. This has also led to many national economies attempting to capitalise on remote workers expenditure by offering a “digital nomad” visa – specifically aimed at remote workers. The city of Cape Town is leading the call for such an offering in South Africa, engaging with the national government to introduce a Remote Working Visa which would allow remote workers to reside and spend in South Africa.



The remote work revolution has centered around higher LSM demographics. Many critical roles unavoidably require face-to-face contact, and workers in the transport, healthcare, and retail sectors remain vulnerable to the virus. There are things you simply cannot do from afar, and risks that cannot be avoided.



“You can’t ‘social distance’ on an ambulance,” one healthcare worker points out, adding, “you’re constantly worried, even though you’ve taken the necessary precautions.”



It is a sobering reminder that the relative safety of an improvized home office is beyond reach for many South Africans.

Caption: A university teacher prepares to join an online tutorial using Zoom, June 2021.

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Shifting To The Office Or Staying Remote?

Namibia is now the most gender-equal country in Africa and sixth in the world, but there are mixed views on the reality in the southern African country.



PATIENCE MASUA, 22, RECENTLY MADE HISTORY in Namibia when she became the youngest member of parliament. If anything, it affirms Namibia’s newfound status as the sixth most gender-equal country in the world, a step ahead of even globally-renowned Rwanda, according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2021 Global Gender Gap Report released in March. Iceland is the most gender-equal country in the world for the 12th time on the list. Namibia and Rwanda are the only two African countries in the top 10. 



Vesselina Stefanova Ratcheva, the report’s Insights Lead, tells FORBES AFRICA: “What we see in the data is that there is political empowerment; we’ve seen this closing of political gender gaps, which is one of the reasons why Namibia has done so well.” 



There are more reiterations of this. Gender Links (GL), a southern African women’s rights organization, says in a 2020 report that women constitute 46% of Namibia’s parliament, narrowly missing the 50% mark. GL further states that “Namibia and South Africa are now tied for the highest representation of women in parliament in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)”. 



But there are other voices that need to be heard too, on the gender-related issues in the country. “Namibia on the list is a huge contradiction,” says Namibia-based gender mainstreaming consultant, Penohole Brock. “It’s our gender awareness that is lacking overall. You have women in leadership positions that continue to uphold conservative views and patriarchy.” 



In October last year, a wave of protests against gender-based violence broke out in Namibia’s capital city, Windhoek. The #ShutItAllDownNambia protestors called for the government to do more to stop the spread of rape and the killing of women. On October 10, EWN reported that the protest was quickly dispersed by police and the Special Reserve Force using tear gas, rubber bullets and batons. 



Since then, was it possible more political attention was given to improve issues? “But it could be that politicians made a conscious choice to drive forward the number of women that are represented in government so that they can help solve these issues,” Ratcheva says. “But I wouldn’t say certainly that it is, without knowing.” 



Brock counters by saying that although Namibia ticks all the representation boxes, she questions what representation actually means, and how there are still gender issues in the country. 



“Political parties are placing women in parliament now, but when you talk to the women, they say that the men still dominate the space. From a quantitative gender audit, Namibia seems okay on paper, but a qualitative gender audit will show major red flags.” 



Since its conception in 2006, the Global Gender Gap Report has highlighted the evolution of gender-based gaps in four areas: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. 



The 2021 report shows how it will now take 135.6 years – up from 99.5 years – to close the global gender gap. The pandemic has pushed back gender parity by a generation. Sub-Saharan Africa has made slow progress, as this region will take 121.7 years to close the gender gap. 



More than half of the countries in the region (20 out of 34) made progress towards gender parity in the past year, though only Namibia and Rwanda have closed at least 80% of their gaps. Ratcheva’s first assessment of the report is that “this is a risky time for gender parity”. 



She further explains that the issues of gender equality and equity plus Covid-19 equal an incredible amount of backsliding. This could result in that 136year figure increasing in the years to come. 



“Covid-19 is posing challenges to all of us in very different ways. Unless there is a concerted effort to reinvest in gender parity and to put in place the foundations for gender-equal recovery, there could be a lot more of that backward progress,” she warns. 



Although politically, Namibia seems to be on the right track in achieving gender parity, Brock argues that from a local authority level, there is still much to be done. 



“Gender parity and our 50/50 representation policy should be seen as a first step and not the end goal to combating gender inequality. If gender awareness and gender sensitivity are not pursued at all levels and taken seriously, then ideals of patriarchy will be impossible to dismantle.”

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‘A Risky Time For Gender Parity’

Understanding the new variants of the coronavirus and if and how the vaccines will catch up.



When this story was going to press, Nigeria had a total of 159,000 Covid-19 cases and counting. A big chunk of these cases was attributed to the two variants discovered in the West African country – the B.1.525 also found in the United Kingdom (UK) and the B.1.207 genetically sequenced in Nigeria.



Experts continue to closely monitor the situation of countries that have seen new variants as the effects of these mutations have yet to be determined. In South Africa, more light has been shed on the 501Y.V2 variant which has been found to be more infectious and deadlier than the original strain.



South Africa has also seen a new strain emerge, as the variant, 501Y.V2, which has wreaked havoc on the country and seen the number of cases increase exponentially since its discovery in December last year.



The situation in Nigeria and South Africa are not unique, however, as other parts of the world too have had to face the daunting reality of combating a new variant and the possibility of minimal protection offered by the vaccines now available.



Professor Lynn Morris, interim Executive Director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) of South Africa, explains to FORBES AFRICA that the virus is likely to become a norm and not disappear altogether from society.



“SARS-CoV-2 is likely to become endemic – in other words, it will continue to circulate amongst people who lack sufficient immunity,” explains Morris. With Covid-19 expected to join the likes of HIV in becoming an endemic, mutations are expected as “viruses mutate as they replicate, fortunately most are harmless”.



It is the area in which these replications have occurred, however, that has created the current crisis with the vaccines available. The spike protein is a key component to the survival of the coronavirus cell and is how the virus enters the body and begins to replicate.



The spike protein allows for the coronavirus cell to invade human cells. By doing this, it ensures the survival of the virus as viruses are only able to replicate once they have entered the host cell. Mutations on the spike protein have a number of different implications as each chemical component of the spike protein serves a different purpose.



One of these purposes is the rate of infection as Morris explains: “The 501Y.V2 variant has a number of mutations in its spike protein. One of these is shared with the variant circulating in the UK that has been shown to increase transmissibility. Another three are escape mutations that make the virus partially or in some cases completely resistant to otherwise protective antibodies.”



The other issue that has also arisen as a result of these mutations is resistance to the current vaccine models available. The vaccines produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford and AstraZeneca all use a specific genetic component from the virus in their vaccine and the antibodies created by the body then formulate their reaction based on the genetic material of this component.



The material used by all these companies has been derived from the spike protein of the virus. This then brings the efficacy of the vaccines into question in dealing with the mutations of the coronavirus cell and still being able to provide a high enough level of protection against the virus.



This theory became a reality in South Africa, where the rollout of vaccines had to be paused with one of the main factors being a low-efficacy level of the vaccine when treating the new strain of the virus. The vaccine in question, the Oxford and AstraZeneca vaccine, had been purchased from the Serum Institute of India and was due for rollout in February.



Due to results conducted by an independent researcher, and a close approaching expiration date, the use of these vaccines was halted and replaced with the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine, Ad26.cov2.S. At the time of writing, this vaccine had been administered to over 145,000 health workers who were given priority.



The possibility of vaccines being a permanent or long-term solution has yet to be determined.



“We don’t know yet how long vaccine-induced immunity will last. If it follows the same pattern as natural infection where antibodies are relatively short-lived, then a booster will likely be required,” says Morris.



As more mutations arise as the virus replicates and the number of vaccines approved for use increases, this war between virus and vaccine is coming to a head and at this point, the victor is anyone’s guess.



Variant B.1.525 – this variant is still relatively new and undergoing investigation is still determining the extent to which the mutations affect the rate of infection. This strain has been found across the world including Ghana and Nigeria.



Variant B.1.1.207 – Initially discovered through genome sequencing done in Nigeria, the exact effects of this variant are still under study, as of March 2021, this variant has been found across the world including countries in Europe, Asia and North America.



Cluster Five – This cluster was found in Denmark amongst the mink population and was found that it would be possible to spread to humans from mink farms. This then led to the culling of 17 million minks which subsequently led to the extinction of the cluster five variant.

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The Conflict Between Virus And Vaccine

The impact of Covid-19 on mental health is also proving deadly, particularly in Africa.



BY PAULA SLIER AND SASHA STAR



PHYSICAL HEALTH HAS BEEN BROUGHT INTO sharp focus over the last year as people watch for any sign of irregular temperature, loss of breath, or a tickle at the back of their throat. Yet, the impact of Covid-19 on mental health is also proving deadly, particularly in Africa where health services were facing a financial struggle long before there was a viral pandemic.



The World Health Organization in 2020 reported that 15 African countries are among the top 30 in the world for suicide per 100,000 people. Mental health is a silent problem when it comes to the continent.



While awareness of such issues may be on the rise globally, cultural and traditional practices in Africa have prevented conditions such as depression and d anxiety receiving the attention they deserve, according to Miyoba Muloongo, a licensed counselor working with Zambia’s Ministry of Health. 



“People relate mental health to witchcraft or superstition because there is less awareness about what the illness really is,” Muloongo says. “There is a stigma related to people who have mental health issues. And sometimes people have mental health issues, but they are not aware; or they may be aware, but are not willing to come forth because of the stigma attached to it.”



Even when those dealing with mental health issues do choose to voice their burden, the disclosure is not always met with encouragement. “I would say the biggest issue is ignorance,” states Kenyan business developer, Andrew Njoroge. “In Africa, people say, ‘How can you be sad? Be happy. Smile!’ That doesn’t solve the issue. You cannot force someone to be happy.”



Njoroge believes that both community members and policy-makers need to get involved to combat the ignorance.



“There needs to be a hybrid solution whereby it’s top-down and bottom-up and they meet in the middle,” he says, while suggesting that the community takes a hands-on approach and the government provides funding and adapts legislature. “Government needs to work on its incentives and community programs, whereas community workers themselves must rally up. You need people on the ground engaging to see who needs help and who is battling mental health. There needs to be a two-pronged approach.”



Community initiatives seem to be the most effective way to assist those afflicted with mental illness, especially in poverty-stricken areas. “We have foundations which are offering appropriate therapy or psychotherapy to people who might be in need but cannot afford to go the private way,” Muloongo says. Volunteers have been trained to listen to adolescents who may not have ventured to clinics but are now able to share their concerns free of charge, while wellness gatherings have been established for men to normalize discussing issues that they would not have spoken about previously. The African concept of an extended family dynamic, where everyone is seen as a relative, is one of the age-old ideologies that is also being adopted to tackle mental health.



“The issue is culture-specific interventions which need to be addressed from the community level because that’s where it all starts from,” believes Muloongo. “That’s where we have the coping mechanisms which we have always used. We would sit around the fire and be told stories on how to cope in general with our grandparents. These methods can still work even this time around.”



Njoroge admits to having anxiety himself and concurs that sharing one’s experience with mental health is the correct way to approach the matter, using the renowned adage ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’. “What I see is more and more people finally speaking out in this day and age of social media and I feel like, in the next five years, there will be more and more people speaking up about their problems,” he says. “I’m speaking my truth so that someone else hears it and it inspires someone else to do so.”

Teenage girl wearing mask sitting in her window

How Mental Health Has Proven To Be The Silent Pandemic

The largest free trade area in the world, with a combined GDP of $3.3 trillion, came into effect on the first day of 2021. A look at what exactly implementation of a deal of this magnitude means.



By Paula Slier and Sasha Star



AFRICA’S TRADE RELATIONSHIPS HAVE BEEN irreversibly affected by three events – the Covid-19 pandemic and two important trade agreements.



At midnight on 31 January 2020, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) officially came into force. The decision – Brexit – made by 52% of the British population resulted in the EU losing its second-largest economy and the Union Jack isolating itself in terms of trade, effectively quarantining in its own home. But for Africa, the move holds opportunities. Untapped export potential to the UK is large as is untapped UK export to Africa; the latter is worth more than $8 billion.



Yet, it is the new trade agreement implemented in Africa where interest should really be directed; 54 of the 55 African Union states on the continent have signed up for the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) which came into effect on the first day of 2021. Eritrea is the only country that chose to sit out – and there are various explanations as to why not unconnected to power and politics.



By creating the largest free trade area in the world, 1.3 billion people are now set to benefit from the elimination of tariffs on most goods, the liberalization trade of key services and the address of non-tariff obstacles to intraregional trade. The AfCFTA is estimated to bring Africa annual income gains of more than $130 billion per year.



The deal could not have come at a better time, though this was hardly factored in when the agreement was originally brokered in March 2018. Covid-19 has substantially impacted Africa’s tourism sector that accounts for much of its revenue— particularly for smaller nations — while the trade of goods, oil, and even food has also declined significantly as a result of the novel coronavirus.



“The pandemic has presented a historic opportunity to build a better future,” says the African Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It stresses that “trade integration, along with domestic reforms to improve revenue mobilization, digitalization, competition, social safety nets, and climate-change mitigation, will be critical for the region’s resilience, growth and job creation”.



An extensive reduction of tariffs is the first step towards this. With 90% of taxed intraregional trade flows being contracted under the AfCFTA, current flows are due to increase by around 16%, or $16 billion.



“The AfCFTA, if implemented as laid out in papers, would usher an economic progression that would make China’s remarkable economic transformation look basic,” claims Ibrahim Anoba, the Managing Editor of AfricanLiberty.org.



“We’re talking about a continent with a consumer market as large as China but with a superior mineral and natural resources concentration.” The potential of the AfCFTA is enormous, but, as Anoba points out, this all depends on the players in the game. “The different thing about the AfCFTA is that it would take an absolute commitment from as many signatory states as possible to be efficient,” he says. “The first phase is the conceiving of the idea. The second is implementation; proper implementation. This is where we’re at. We cannot move further unless we do this right.”



What exactly does implementation of a deal of this magnitude mean, though?



With so many players involved, it is understandable that the AfCFTA will be enforced in stages. The instruments that are already operational include the regulations and administrative rulings applied by governments to determine the source of goods, services and investments known as the rules of origin; the monitoring and elimination of non-tariff barriers; as well as the schedule of tariff concessions and other specific commitments.



“Long term, the AfCFTA faces a Brexit type of threat from the larger economies which may feel like they are giving up too much autonomy by being part of the agreement,” warns Jamie Mighti, a South Africa-based political analyst. “This risk is higher in Africa than in the European Union because of increased economic disparities between states and Afrophobic attitudes.” Mighti believes that there are substantial levels of antipathy to the business presence of Africans from other states in the large African economies and that this could present a massive challenge to the success of the AfCFTA.



It is not all doom and gloom, however. Mighti is of the opinion that better inclusion of the youth on the continent is an excellent way to ensure that the agreement will thrive, and that more focus should be placed on aiding small and medium-sized businesses, as opposed to large entities. The IMF also feels that tariff reductions should be complemented by policies to reduce non-tariff bottlenecks to trade, and that agriculture-based and less diversified countries should combine trade policies with structural reforms that boost agricultural productivity to better leverage existing comparative advantages.



Overall, the AfCFTA has been packaged as an opportunity to lead Africa down a path of prosperity, or fall into greater economic depravity that will take decades to equalize. As Anoba sums up, “If things go according to plan, we can finally expect Africa to emerge as the global economy’s heartbeat a decade from now.”

Foreman control loading Containers box from Cargo freight ship

Will The AfCFTA Be The Heartbeat Of The Global Economy?

Understanding the successful storage, supply chain, and distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine and what Africa needs to do to get it right.



THERE WAS PERSONAL DILIGENCE IN conducting the research for this story, as this writer too tested positive for Covid-19 at the end of December, in South Africa, a country that recorded a million coronavirus infections that same week. Following the story and the world’s quest for an effective cure, this article now focuses on the concomitant issue of vaccine distribution across Africa even as the continent grapples with a deadly second wave of the pandemic.



Different countries have taken different approaches to securing their supply of vaccines. In North Africa, for example, Morocco has secured over 65 million doses, some of which has come from China’s Sinopharm and Britain’s AstraZeneca and Oxford supplies. The country aims to have at least 80% of its population vaccinated with this supply.



South Africa, having joined the COVAX coalition, has secured 20 million doses thus far. The country’s government is using a phased approach with healthcare workers being the first to receive the vaccine, and the continent’s second largest economy aims to have 60% of the overall population vaccinated to initiate herd immunity.



Other countries look to their alliances with China and Russia to provide vaccine doses. While countries have had to ensure the security of their supply first, other issues around the vaccine are also to be considered which in turn plays a deciding role in the type of Covid-19 vaccine a country needs.



One such issue is storage. The current vaccines that have been approved as a result of their high efficacy rates pose a difficult challenge when it comes to shipping and storage. There are certain conditions that have to be met to ensure that a vaccine is stored successfully and still viable for use after being shipped.



This is where the vaccine cold chain comes in. The cold chain is the network of cold storage facilities that are used through every key stage of the vaccines’ journey; from the manufacturing line to their eventual use in a syringe. Proper storage and handling of vaccines during the cold chain process ensures that no part of the vaccine being transported degrades and becomes unusable for treatment.



Part of the cold chain process is also temperature regulation and includes all equipment and procedures required during the transportation and storage process.



Africa faces a unique challenge in the area of storage. With vaccines requiring resilience in being able to travel across great distances and many facilities, particularly in rural areas not reaching the requirements for long-term storage, certain vaccines have had to be ruled out.



There are enough examples now of businesses and services in this critical area. iKhaya Automation Solutions is a temperature monitoring specialist based in Pietermaritzburg, a town in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The company has received accreditation from the World Health Organization (WHO) which is critical in the roll-out and storage of vaccines on the African continent.



Eckart Zollner, the sales and marketing executive of iKhaya, says the accreditation could not have come at a more critical juncture. “The temperature of every vaccine (and indeed all temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals) must be kept as advised by the manufacturers during transport and storage to preserve the vaccine’s effectiveness and safety once administered,” says Zollner.



Temperature monitoring systems such as the ones provided by iKhaya are a key component to ensuring that the viability of a vaccine is maintained throughout the cold chain process. Devices manufactured by iKhaya have been deployed at a number of different storage facilities and laboratories that have been involved in the vaccine process.



“Vaccine storage at the recommended temperatures in Africa is not easy to achieve,” says Zollner.



In order for the accreditation to be achieved, a number of compliances and regulations had to be met. The criteria included a thorough examination of the devices and quality of technology being used in its mechanisms for measurement. There were also strict regulations on how the devices interacted with the environment and the alert systems in place should the temperature and condition of the vaccine face being compromised. Zollner elaborates on the importance of data analysis and data storage systems that were also in place and part of the approval of the accreditation process as “it has been quite an intricate and rigorous process in ensuring our data systems matched the criteria set out by WHO”.



Given that the storage of the vaccine is determined by the specific temperature range, the devices created have to ensure that the temperature regulation processes can be monitored in real-time and breaches can be controlled immediately.



“The alerts have a three-level hierarchy to ensure that personnel are able to act accordingly and before temperatures reach a critical juncture and the vaccine is compromised,&#8221; says Zollner. 



In Africa, there are also other issues in the cold chain process. One of them, power.



“Electricity supplies have proven to be unstable in some parts of Africa, which is not ideal for temperature regulation devices; the consistent maintenance of electricity, particularly in rural areas is needed for vaccines to maintain their efficacy,” adds Zollner.



Training is also of importance as personnel needs to be well-versed in the temperature regulation measures needed for the storage of a particular vaccine. Zollner also mentions the lack of qualified staff in certain regions.



Another critical issue is the actual distribution of the vaccine within an African context.



The distribution of Covid-19 vaccines also comes with a subset of issues. Dr John Sargent, one of the co-founders of BroadReach Healthcare, spoke to FORBES AFRICA on some of the issues in Africa.



Sargent explains that the model of distribution for the Covid-19 vaccine is a complex one.



“When you think about from when a vaccine gets into a country to when it gets put into someone’s arm, especially those that require two doses, there are literally a thousand steps that need to happen first,” notes Sargent.



One of the first things that need to happen in each country is regulatory approval.



The second consideration, once approval has been granted, is budget.



“The cost of the actual vaccine is only part of the cost, the cost for the vaccine process needs to be taken into account, this includes costs for syringes, alcohol swabs, personnel to administer the vaccine, and it just continues from there.”



The third area, according to Sargent, is supply chain logistics which he foresees as being a challenge, especially due to the cold chain process. He reasons that this can be overcome by explaining that “in many of the countries I have been in sub- Saharan Africa, I could get ice cream”. 



By this, he means partnering with industries and companies in the private sector and using their facilities as an innovation within the cold chain process.



Apart from the technicalities around distribution, Sargent mentions more intrinsic social issues such as community awareness and adherence as potential concerns.



Sargent feels education needs to happen through communication strategies and exploring avenues such as social media campaigns and community programs.



The last thing Sargent feels is needed is effective project management.



By this, he refers to technical nuances such as an effective data management system or how vaccine candidates are being catalogued and the logistics around key facilities that would offer vaccination.



Understanding the supply chain in distributing the vaccine is going to be instrumental in ensuring that the vaccination process is as widespread as it needs to be.



With different countries adopting different approaches in how the vaccine is distributed, only time will tell which has been the most effective in making Covid-19 a thing of the past.



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Storage conditions of the vaccines currently available: Currently, there are at least five vaccines that have approval and are being rolled out in different parts of the globe. Each of these vaccines have different storage requirements in terms of the temperatures required to ensure they remain viable. The reason for this is due to the components of each vaccine and how they have been structured biologically.



BNT162b2 (Pfizer and BioNTech): This vaccine needs to be shipped and stored at temperatures between -60 to -80°C. It can be stored for up to five days in normal refrigerator conditions (2-8°C) before use and has a shelf life of up to six months under the right storage conditions.



mRNA-1273 (Moderna): This vaccine has easier conditions to meet than the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine as it only needs to be shipped and stored at temperatures between -15 to -25°C, the average temperature of a freezer. It can also be stored in refrigerator conditions for up to 30 days and also has a shelf life of six months.



AZD1222 (AstraZeneca and Oxford): The vaccine created by AstraZeneca and Oxford has the easiest conditions in terms of storage as it can be stored and shipped at temperatures between 2-8°C, the average temperature of a refrigerator. It can also be stored at these temperatures for up to six months without use.



CoronaVac (Sinovac): This vaccine uses an inactivated vaccine approach and as such, can be stored at refrigerator temperatures (between 2-8°C) for extended periods of time.



Sputnik V (Gamaleya): Using a viral vector approach, the viral vector vaccine can be stored at refrigerator temperatures when in dry mass form, and at temperatures of around -18.5°C in liquid form.
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JAPAN-HEALTH-VIRUS

Virus, Vaccine, And Viability

There has been enough debate and deliberation around South Africa’s proposed National Health Insurance Bill for unified health coverage. Covid-19 has turned the spotlight on it again, and there’s more news expected in February 2021.



I FEEL GOOD,” WERE THE LAST WORDS 33-YEAR-OLD Charlie Mpogeng remembers his brother, Herman Motlhabane, saying to him before his untimely passing on the morning of July 17.



Motlhabane died, his relatives not knowing it was because of Covid-19 as his test results were only made available two weeks after his passing.



He had complained of a flu before being hospitalized.



“It was during that time of mass hysteria when everyone was like ‘if you have the flu, have it checked out’,” Mpogeng remembers as he walks to his brother’s grave at Westpark Cemetery in Emmarentia, west of Johannesburg. Even as he speaks, a tractor is digging up more graves around him, for other hapless victims who have succumbed to Covid-19.



By the end of July, 1,932 people had died of the pandemic in South Africa’s Gauteng Province, Motlhabane one of them.



With a disruptive virus still on the prowl to claim more unsuspecting lives, political establishments everywhere are sitting up and revisiting their healthcare systems – or the lack of it.



In South Africa, the focus has returned to the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, proposed to improve and strengthen the health financing system and provide quality, affordable medical care to all.



“The pandemic also showed the need for the public and private healthcare sectors to work together,” Dr Zweli Mkhize, the country’s health minister, said at a press briefing in October. “This is one of the core principles of the NHI.”



To further enable this, the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) and The National Institute For Communicable Diseases Of South Africa (NCID) have fallen under one umbrella, to ensure tests are adequately and accurately captured, but also to ensure labs can exchange skills, information and resources as and when the need arises.



“At the start of the pandemic, there was a critical shortage of test kits. At that time, the labs 



would count all the kits that were available in the country and then distribute them equitably amongst each other, regardless of whether the lab was private or public and it’s important



to point out that both public and private labs co-sponsored each other in ensuring equitable distribution,” Popo Maja, the spokesperson for the national Department of Health in South Africa, tells FORBES AFRICA.



Healthcare workers were counted as “one workforce” during these dire times, working freely between public and private sectors and some moving to work at field hospitals. Due to the high demand for hospital beds for Covid-19 patients, the government agreed with private hospital groups about pricing and acceptance of state patients. According to Maja, such negotiations have previously taken years 



and were often facilitated by lawyers and courts, at times without resolution.



“Covid-19 reminded us that we depend on each other. We have been able to forge cooperation between private and public,” Mkhize further stated in a one-on-one interview at the fifth annual FORBES AFRICA Philips Future of Health Summit in November. “We need a system that will ensure equitable access to quality healthcare irrespective of class and status or financial standing. Universal health coverage is now a global aspiration.”



The NHI Bill has been deliberated for years and the next development is expected to happen in February 2021. The Parliament’s portfolio committee on health dealing with the bill said that it plans to submit a report on the comments by then. According to ‘BusinessTech’, the pandemic had an impact on the process regarding the NHI and parliament which had to go through a mountain of submissions on the bill.



And though the Department of Health is confident that the pandemic has proven that the NHI is necessary, others believe differently, in consonance with the fact that the bill has sparked much debate from various quarters over the years.



“Our economic situation has deteriorated so drastically, that if it was unaffordable before, it’s even more unaffordable now. I mean the estimates of costs are hundreds of billions of rands,” says Jack Bloom, Democratic Alliance Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, to FORBES AFRICA.



Bloom goes on to explain that right now, the state should be focusing on fixing the administration issues in the health sector, including those around poor hospital infrastructure, frustrated medical personnel, and delayed surgeries and treatments.



However, Dr Nicolas Crisp, public health specialist and NHI advisor to Mkhize, remains optimistic that the NHI can alleviate some of the problems. He believes that by having the NHI, some of the strain on the private sector can be alleviated.



“This is an ethical matter that needs to be debated between clinicians. It’s not a political matter. And it’s not a purely budget matter. It’s an ethical clinical discussion around what can you give to a patient and it’s about what the evidence shows to be the best outcomes for the inputs,” Crisp says.



He believes that countries with a single health system have tended to do better than those with more than one. Decisions and actions can be taken swiftly with one system as instructions don’t need to be directed to multiple networks. Countries like the United Kingdom and Vietnam already boast such systems.



“So it doesn’t matter who’s actually delivering the services, it’s that there’s a coherent mechanism of making decisions and disseminating those decisions. And there’s a coherent mechanism of collecting data to one central point,” Crisp offers.



He has been a medical practitioner in the public sector from the 90s, consulting not only in South Africa but in other parts of Africa including Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, and Lesotho. Crisp became the advisor in July this year to assist with the design and development of the administrative and operational capacity to implement the NHI. For just over a year, Crisp has been working with the Department of Health in South Africa looking at the practical implications and requirements to support the NHI fund.



“It is extremely complicated. Let’s take just the public sector. At the moment, the money to run the public health services comes from the national fiscus; it is distributed to the provincial governments, the government, and then they are the ones who decide what percentage of that equitable share will go to health, then they inform the National Treasury and the National Department of Health that this is the amount of money they set aside for health,” Crisp explains, adding that the private sector is not any better. 



There are two ways to pay for healthcare in the private sector. One is where if you are fortunate enough that you can afford it, and you insure yourself through a medical scheme. However, the terms and conditions of this are that you only manage to cover what you can afford, and when it runs out, some are required to use public services.



“The second way that we pay for healthcare in the private sector is that when the need arises, we scramble and raise money,” Crisp explains, “And for people who are middle income and relatively poor, the only way they can raise money is to sell assets or to scrounge from their neighbors, friends, and family, and to basically blow their cash reserves to pay for their healthcare. So it’s very tenuous, and it’s insecure.”



But what do the healthcare workers feel about the NHI in South Africa in these pressing times?



It’s all good and well to consider the patient but what of those who are in the frontline, tending to them?



Solidarity, a trade union, tells FORBES AFRICA that it believes the NHI can and will destabilize the healthcare sector.



The primary research they did in 2019 amongst medical practitioners in both the private and public sectors threw up a negative response towards it.



Morné Malan, the union’s strategic specialist for research and communication, says the report indicated that 83% of medical professionals believe that should NHI be implemented, it will lead to a drastic increase in immigration to other countries; 41% said they would personally consider taking steps to immigrate if 



it is implemented and 21% of healthcare professionals indicated that they have already started taking steps towards immigration.



“The feedback that we’re getting from the industry itself is that there’s very little confidence in government, and there’s very little confidence in the system itself. And you know, this is a crucial factor. Because these are the professionals who are going to be at the frontline,” Malan says.



Other than the practical implications around NHI, is the financial and fiscal aspect that it will cost billions. And the concern from the trade unions is who will have to pay for the NHI.



“Only around 12% of South Africa’s population pays taxes. Most countries, which do have universal healthcare systems, or I should say, which do have nationalized or socialized medicine, the figure is closer to around 30% plus,” Malan says.



“It is the current system that is unstable,” Maja says. “The government currently uses the same amount of money to fund 16% of the population that uses private healthcare as it uses to fund 84% of the population that uses public facilities. The public healthcare system is under enormous pressure due to a growing population and rise of non-communicable diseases amongst other issues.”



However, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) say they have always supported NHI as it provides universal healthcare to everyone, and healthcare should not be divided into the “haves and have-nots”.



Nehawu spokesperson Khaya Xaba explains that the coronavirus has proven the need for one healthcare system, and not two.



According to Nehawu, the need is urgent, as currently, the private sector only treats 14% of South Africans, who have medical aid; while 86% of South Africans are treated by the public sector.



“I believe that the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country has proven beyond reasonable doubt that we need the urgent implementation of the NHI,” Xaba says.



“Through the NHI, we believe that working together between the two sectors and collapsing them into one will be able to deal with the needs of the country. We will be able to attend to everyone who’s sick, even if they don’t have money.”



Covid-19 may be a stark reminder of the urgent need for a unified healthcare system, but is all of South Africa ready for it yet?



Only time – and perhaps another treacherous jolt from nature – will tell.

FRANCE-HEALTH-VIRUS-TEST

What Next For The NHI?

Professor Barry Schoub, a world-renowned virologist, details the Covid-19 vaccine process and the innovations being made in the field as well as the involvement of Africa in these trials.



 



Q. Given how each phase within a clinical trial has been expedited to find a Covid-19 vaccine, do you think it will have the same effectiveness or efficacy as other vaccines used to combat infectious diseases similar in nature?



A. I think up to the Pfizer release, scientists, virologists, vaccinologists thought it would be a vaccine with a 60% efficacy. So these results are in the same ballpark as the influenza vaccine because it’s got a similar kind of disease process. It is only an interim analysis of course, but it certainly has very good connotations attached to it. It is also a possibility that the corona vaccines will have a higher protection rate than the influenza vaccine for example. However, it will not have the same efficacy rate as more successful vaccines such as the measles vaccine which has an efficacy of about 95% and therefore we do need to have some reservation.



Q. There are a number of vaccine types currently in trials. Pfizer and BioNTech are developing a genetic vaccine while Johnson &amp; Johnson are trialing a viral vector vaccine model they have used for finding an Ebola vaccine previously. Do you think the type of vaccine influences the efficacy rate?



A. These vaccines are all new, this has never been done on humans, so there is no definitive way to say. We’ve never had an RNA or DNA vaccine going into human beings and we’ve never had a virus vector going into human beings. Previous use of a viral vector for HIV vaccine trials didn’t go well because of pre-existing immunity to the adenovirus being used as the vessel. All of this is new territory and really in a way, unpredictable.



Q. What do you think of the innovations then made with these vaccines?



A. It’s very exciting and just the speed with which these vaccines have come out as well. This disease has only been with us from the beginning of the year, so it’s amazing as vaccines usually take years to develop.&nbsp;



Q. These trials are also being tested throughout the world, and given that South Africa is the only site in Africa with any of these trials happening, do you think there should be more testing sites in Africa?



A. I don’t think all of Africa needs involvement in trials per se… It would just be where there is prevalence of disease, for example, endemic diseases such as HIV and TB in southern Africa and more tropical diseases so these are scenarios that do need to be looked at.



Q. Do you think these trials have accounted for all necessary factors that could play a role in how successful the vaccines could be?



A. In European and American trials, there are still key populations missing in the evaluation of these vaccinations like the elderly or people with co-morbidities, so all of these factors do need to be evaluated. All the vaccines currently in Phase III lack the optimal populations, so they all have a set age parameter and these vaccines still need testing in high-risk populations.



Q. Do you see any potential barriers that could decrease the uptake of the vaccine?



A. Well… there’s always suspicion, and polls here and abroad have shown hesitance and reluctance. First of all, things have been done at such fast speeds so there are concerns about safety and also the novelty of these vaccines and that they haven’t been used on humans before. So these factors can lead to suspicion.&nbsp;



Q. Do you think there any possible solutions to this?



A. They need to be reassured that these do undergo very rigorous safety testing and this will prove to be an educational exercise.



Q. What are your thoughts on the eventual accessibility of the vaccine within Africa?



A. In the beginning, we could possibly get a relatively small proportion of vaccines for the population, so the initial batches will have to go to priority groups. This includes frontline workers as an example, people in elderly homes and other high-risk populations.



Q. Do you think initiatives such as CEPI could also see Africa receiving the vaccine sooner than anticipated?



A. Initiatives such as CEPI and COVAX are pooled procurement mechanisms, so these aim to provide both middle and low income countries with their initial supply of the vaccine when it becomes available. So the vaccination process will need to happen in two steps; first step would be to protect vulnerable groups and then only later try to achieve herd immunity.



<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow">
[IN NUMBERS] 



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-12-billion">$12 BILLION</h2>



In an African Union (AU) meeting in November to discuss Africa’s strategy for financing Covid-19 vaccines, AU Chairperson and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa noted that about $12 billion was required, and this was expected to come from three sources: the COVAX Donor Initiative, The World Bank, direct donors, and the African Import-Export Bank, which has committed to raising up to $5 billion.
</div></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h4>



PLEASE NOTE:&nbsp;More stories regarding the Covid-19 vaccine will be published. However, if you would like to read the full Focus piece by Simone Sribrath, click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/product/single-digital-issue-dec-jan-2020/">here to download the digital copy of FORBES AFRICA.</a>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/07/what-goes-into-a-clinical-trial/">What Goes Into A Clinical Trial?&nbsp;(Forbes Africa)</a>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/07/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-vaccine/">All You Need To Know About The Vaccine (Forbes Africa)</a>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/10/qa-endemic-diseases-like-hiv-are-still-an-emergency/">Q&amp;A: ‘ENDEMIC DISEASES LIKE HIV ARE STILL AN EMERGENCY’ (Forbes Africa)</a>

maxresdefault

‘ALL OF THIS IS NEW TERRITORY AND REALLY IN A WAY, UNPREDICTABLE’

Dr. Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, Director of Research at the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa:



Q. Currently, clinical trials can take years to reach Phase IV. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us how much quicker it can go. Do you think there are lessons that can be taken from this?



A: We have learned a lot during the Covid-19 pandemic about how we can potentially expedite processes and get products to the people that need them rapidly and I think it’s important to remember that in our region, endemic diseases like HIV are still an emergency. While we don’t want to cut corners and while we want to ensure that we have safe and effective products for people, something that Covid-19 vaccine trials may need to grapple with is no longer using placebo-control trials as it is harder to justify from an ethical perspective, especially as more vaccines begin to hit the market.



Q. What does this then mean from a design perspective for trials going forward?



A. Trial design is going to be very interesting to see going forward. In terms of just the processes, there have been discussions about how to diminish the transition time from Phase II to Phase III and these large gaps that affect when results are being received.&nbsp;



Q. What lessons are there for clinical trials running during a pandemic such as the current one?&nbsp;



A. Future trials are going to have to Covid-proof themselves. We learned during conducting our trial, sibling trials during a pandemic are challenging and we’re going to have to think about how we do these studies so that we are managing staff and participant safety. 



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h4>



PLEASE NOTE:&nbsp;More stories regarding the Covid-19 vaccine will be published. However, if you would like to read the full Focus piece by Simone Sribrath, click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/product/single-digital-issue-dec-jan-2020/">here to download the digital copy of FORBES AFRICA.</a>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/07/what-goes-into-a-clinical-trial/">What Goes Into A Clinical Trial? (Forbes Africa)</a>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/07/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-vaccine/">All You Need To Know About The Vaccine (Forbes Africa)</a>

Medical technician preparing a human sample for HIV testing

Q&A: ‘ENDEMIC DISEASES LIKE HIV ARE STILL AN EMERGENCY’

Although Donald Trump-led arguably the most Africa-adverse American administration in history, analysts warn not to expect too much from his successor, Democrat Joe Biden. A look at the likely impact of his win on the US-Africa economic dynamics.



HISTORICALLY, IT HAS NOT MATTERED MUCH for Africa whether Democrats or Republicans sit in the White House. This is largely because the United States (US) has never really had a coherent and constructive Africa policy. So, although outgoing Republican president Donald Trump led arguably the most Africa-adverse American administration in history, analysts warn not to expect too much from his successor, Democrat Joe Biden.



Biden was vice-president in the Obama administration that preceded Trump. But whereas Trump once called African countries “shitholes”, Biden at least is promising to “reengage with the world”.



“He will be more engaging with countries, including Africa,” believes Jannie Rossouw, interim head of Wits Business School in Johannesburg. “Trump really isolated the US from many regions, from very many continents, it was bad relationship all over the place.”



Judd Devermont, director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, agrees.



“I think Biden is going to focus on rebuilding partnerships and that includes at the multilateral level to the state level, to the subnational level,” he says.



“So I think you will first see a refocus on climate change and strengthening international adoptions, which will be of benefit to Africans. It’s clear that Biden is very supportive of the Continental Free Trade Agreement. That is incredibly important. But he has also talked about the importance of subnational governance and particularly urbanization. And so I think we have the potential to see the next administration work with African countries at these multiple levels to unlock their economies.”



Devermont expects the biggest African economies – Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya in particular – to receive significant attention, while the prospects for Ethiopia also look promising.



But Biden has his work cut out for him. Domestic challenges like tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, an economic recession and reckoning with racism are likely to keep him busy during his first few months in office. When his attention finally shifts to international affairs, climate change and trade wars with China can expect to dominate the agenda.



But instead of disparaging Beijing at every turn, like Trump did, Devermont expects there will be a focus on “transparency around norms, around standards, ensuring that African economies are open to US investors. And the more negative elements of a Chinese engagement will be blunted or curbed through shared partnerships with Africans around how foreign countries should invest in their countries, how to form partnerships in their countries.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Another expectation is that American legislation allowing sub-Saharan African countries preferential entry into the US market will be extended.



Rossouw believes that “Biden will try to find a call partner in countries in Africa, and that might be beneficial, especially for the bigger economies in Africa, such as South Africa. If Johannesburg was an independent country, it would be the ninth largest economy in Africa. So naturally, the interest will first be in the big economies and then there will be spillover effects to the smaller economies.”



Biden has in the past committed Washington to helping the continent manage the challenges of a burgeoning population. The United Nations’ projection that Africa will be home to a quarter of the world’s population by 2050 led him to suggest an urbanization initiative. This would include partnerships between African and American cities planning for growth in critical sectors like energy access, climate change, transportation and water management.



“Urbanization is the key transformation that the continent will undergo in this century and ensuring that African cities, most of whom sit on the coasts, are open for business will be a huge opportunity for US companies,&#8221; says Devermont. &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t underestimate how important that initiative, depending on what it develops into, can be for the US-Africa economic relationship.&#8221;



Equally important is that the Biden administration reach out to companies that remain skeptical or ignorant about opportunities in Africa and address some of the risks and myths they have about investing on the continent.



Trump’s mission was to make America great but his administration largely disengaged with one of the world’s fastest-growing regions. Time will tell whether his successor fares any better. 



-By PAULA SLIER AND ALLISON GOSNEY

US dollar on the Africa map background

Will The United States Re-Engage With Africa?

The complex world of Covid-19 vaccine trials explained.



SOMEWHERE IN THE DEEP UNEXPLORED depths of Madagascar, an unknown herb is probably on its way to becoming a global panacea for the pandemic



This is Africa, a continent ripe with possibilities, where you cannot rule out that a cure for Covid-19 could perhaps come from nature itself. Just like Madagascar, currently touting Artemisia Afra (umhlonyane in Nguni languages and previously used as an ingredient for treating malaria) as a potential cure for Covid-19, bigger economies like South Africa are also looking to the botanical world for answers. Its national Department of Basic Education has reassigned R15 million ($960,982) of its budget on Covid-19 interventions such as Artemisia. Nigeria has also made a move towards a more homeopathic approach, as a ministerial committee has been put in place to further examine the potential natural compounds hold in combating the Covid-19 pandemic.



But the focus of this story is exploring humanity’s race to uncover a universal vaccine – or any cure – that can assuage a health crisis confronting the entire world.



Currently, there are over 60 possible vaccines the world over being put through the paces. Of these, only nine are in the third<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/07/what-goes-into-a-clinical-trial/"> phase of trials.</a> The road to finding a Covid-19 vaccine since the start of the pandemic this year has been long and arduous. For the layperson, desperate to see an effective vaccine come online soon, the deluge of news on vaccine trials can seem complex. This article will discern the facts around them.



In comparison to its European and American counterparts, Africa has seen a relatively lower rate of virus spread and a lower death rate. As of November 11, Africa accounted for 3.7% of the world’s total number of cases; and southern Africa the worst hit with over 800,000 cases.



Scientists are yet to definitively map out the effects of the Covid-19 virus and its ability to recur within individuals who have had it before. Fear of public spaces and physical interactions have become the norm. Face masks and sanitizing products have become staples in every handbag and car cubbyhole.



Put simply, a clinical trial is a series of phases within an experiment being conducted to test a new drug, type of therapy or new medical device. It also looks at the efficacy of pre-existing medical interventions in the treatment of numerous illnesses and different types of patients.



Clinical trials can be performed on both healthy and ill participants. There are a number of protocols and regulations that accompany a clinical trial to ensure that the wellbeing of the participant is maintained as far as possible. It ensures that the benefits of the medical intervention being tested outweigh the risks and each phase of a trial plays a part in testing this.



Clinical trials usually happen in four phases. Before these phases occur, a preclinical test is done. Each phase needs to produce a favorable result in order for the next phase to be conducted. In order for a medical intervention to get to the stage of manufacturing and distribution, all four phases need to have occurred successfully. The success of each phase is measured by the number of medically adverse events that have occurred as a result of the medical intervention being tested. These adverse events include mild to serious medical side-effects that have occurred to the participants of the trial.



Dr. Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, Director of Research at the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa explains how innovations made with expediting the clinical trials for the Covid-19 vaccine could reshape how clinical trials are done across the board. She has also been the lead on HPTN 084, an injectable form of an antiretroviral (ARV) used to prevent HIV in women in sub-Saharan Africa.



The frantic search for a Covid-19 vaccine is being closely watched by every country on earth. At the time of going to press mid-November, there were currently 51 trials between Phases I and III of the clinical trials. When they will be available to all is a question on everyone’s mind.



South Africa’s Health Minister, talking to FORBES AFRICA about vaccine manufacturers, says: “Collaboration across global institutions has led to the transfer of technology and therefore new developments and new discoveries in combating the pandemic.”



In an interview with Aspen Pharmacare CEO and founder, Stephen Saad, he highlights to FORBES AFRICA the need for efficient manufacturing and distribution channels for the vaccine, once it becomes available. Aspen recently partnered with Johnson &amp; Johnson for their vaccine Ad26.COV2-S(now known as JNJ-78436735). This partnership will see the manufacturing and distribution capacity of Johnson &amp; Johnson increase significantly.



Saad explains that Aspen uses just 40% of their current manufacturing capacity for their own products and the other 60% was available for use. “Covid-19 is prevalent everywhere. We were very committed to trying to find a partner that would use our capabilities to be able to provide a vaccine,” says Saad.



At the heart of the partnership is the transfer of technology as Johnson &amp; Johnson share their protocols and blueprint for creating the vaccine so they are able to manufacture it once it has passed Phase III trials.



“We are very pleased because Johnson &amp; Johnson have made big commitments to distribute their vaccine universally, so they’ve made commitments through the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation and to their own public statements about offering up 500 million doses to the developing world,&#8221; says Saad.&nbsp;



The manufacturing site in Port Elizabeth in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province will be utilized in this partnership where as many as 300 million doses can be produced and this is expected to begin the second quarter of next year should the Ad26.COV2-S proves successful.



“So much depends on the trials and the success of these trials,” says Saad. Aspen, having been linked to the success of the steroid Dexamethasone, and now as a vaccine frontrunner, have proven their reputation as a pharmaceutical powerhouse.



With an investment of R3 billion ($194 million) into their “sterile site”, Saad is confident. “There’s not a lot of companies that can manufacture on this scale,” he says.



Saad recognizes the urgency for a vaccine. “Our first and only priority right now is to get the product out to the world and our focus is on the job that we have to do very quickly over the next period.”



Currently, the only African country involved in the trial phases of these vaccines has been South Africa across different sites. Progress is being made by Oxford University as they await final clearance to begin trials in Kenya and the Uganda Virus Research Institute is aiming to collaborate with the Imperial College London and begin trials in Uganda in December.



Historically, only 2% of all vaccine trials have occurred on the African continent, according to a report in The Lancet.



Despite being no stranger to viral outbreaks, Africa as a whole is often excluded from the vaccine process and as such there is a severe lack of understanding of the African context when trialing a potential vaccine or medical intervention.



There are several factors that could possibly hinder the efficient and comprehensive administration of a Covid-19 vaccine when it eventually becomes available.



Accessibility to the vaccine is seen as a key issue, particularly within developing countries. While there are several initiatives such as the investments made by Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations as well as the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, African countries are still amongst the last buyers of any possible vaccine that emerges.



There is surely light at the end of the tunnel but it may be a while before a cure will finally see the light of day.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading </h4>



PLEASE NOTE: More stories regarding the Covid-19 vaccine will be published. However, if you would like to read the full Focus piece by Simone Sribrath, click <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/product/single-digital-issue-dec-jan-2020/">here to download the digital copy of FORBES AFRICA. </a>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/07/what-goes-into-a-clinical-trial/">What Goes Into A Clinical Trial? (Forbes Africa)</a>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/10/qa-endemic-diseases-like-hiv-are-still-an-emergency/">Q&amp;A: ‘ENDEMIC DISEASES LIKE HIV ARE STILL AN EMERGENCY (Forbes Africa) </a>

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