De-Politicizing COVID 19: World leaders Focus on Saving Lives

South Africa is one of 22 countries that have called on Cuba to help with containing the spread and response to COVID 19 in the country. Cuba has responded by sending 200 doctors. I am glad that the government of both countries have their priorities right - to save lives.

But the current administration of the United States of America does not think so. The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticized South Africa for accepting more than 200 Cuban medics to help battle coronavirus. According to the AFP news agency, Mr. Pompeo is accusing Cuba of profiting from the pandemic. Says Pompeo to reporters on Wednesday April 29 "We've noticed how the regime in Havana has taken advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to continue its exploitation of Cuban medical workers," 

Mr. Pompeo is applauding leaders in countries like Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and other countries for, to quote him , `refusing to turn a blind eye to these abuses by the Cuban regime.' Pompeo ia asking all countries to do the same, including places like South Africa and Qatar Please note that according to Melinda Gates of the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation, there are bodies on the streets from COID 19 fatalities in Ecuador. Interesting that suddenly, the U.S Secretary of State has taken on the role as the champion of the rights of Cuban doctors and basically would rather South Africans die than be saved by Cuban doctors. The U.S claim that Cuba hopes to benefit is almost comical.

The team of Cuban medics that arrived in south Africa on Sunday April 26 included family physicians, epidemiologists, biotechnology experts and health-care technology engineers. These are being deployed to different provinces by South Africa's Department of Health. South Africa has recorded 5,350 cases of coronavirus, including 103 deaths.

Today, global data on COVID 19 stands at Confirmed cases 3,209,984 confirmed cases, 228,056 deaths and 841,607 recovered cases. Of these cases 1,064,819 coronavirus cases are confirmed in the United states with 61,680 deaths; the United States is the most affected by COVID 19. My Heart goes out to my American friends that their government seems more committed to do what it knows how to do best, tell the rest of the world what to do as the main MO to show itself as the leader of the world.

The current Trump administration has announced its dissatisfaction with what it allegedly says is China’s handling of alerting the world on COVID 19. China has ignored calls from the US for an investigation into its handling and rightfully so. China is more focused on co saving lives through co raining the spread of COVI 19. When the blaming China game did not stick, the Trump’s administration moved it to Ethiopia’s Tedros Adhanom Director general of the World Health Organization has refused for the blame game to distracts from the agencies commitment to continue to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Now the US is accusing Cuba of hoping to profit from its COVID 19 support to countries like South Africa. South Africa asked Cuba for assistance and Cuba responded through sending 200 doctors to South Africa, the United States Secretary of State has accused Cuba for hoping to benefit from this.

I agree with the Director General of the World Health Organization, that COVID 19 should not be politicized. I am glad countries like Cuba, China and South Africa are heeding to this recommendation by ignoring recent erratic accusations and allegations from the current US administration, but my heart is heavy for my American friends.

It must be a tough time for Americans to see their country flounder at a time the world needed its leaders to demonstrate collaborative leadership to save the world. The U.S, a country that has prided itself as the leader of the free world and the most powerful country is the world, currently has an administration that announced it would be halting funding to the World Health Organization at a time it needed most. I have watched many late-night shows and laughed along with a few on the Trump administration, but regarding the current administration’s reaction to COVID 19 in the US and globally, I am not laughing, and we should not too.

With the highest infection and death rate in the United States I do indeed feel for my American friends that this administration is investing so much energy looking for foreign countries to attack. This is one time it is loud and clear that the U.S. needs the world support. The United States is using lorries to move corpse in New York as we speak. We have seen images of mass graves in New York. But the United States President is more vested in how perhaps China does not want him reelected.

 I am not in the bash the U.S Donald J. Trump bandwagon. I respect the United States too much to do that. But right now, I feel for Americans as my fellow world citizens. For the Coronavirus response, the U.S needs the world right now, the U.S needs a President like South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa who will put saving lives before politics.