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Opinion | Coronavirus pandemic is an opportunity for the renewal of South-South cooperation, to aid economic recovery
- As countries interact under South-South cooperation framework, differences must be acknowledged even as customs and cross-border travel standards are worked out
- Global South countries must participate in schemes that ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines
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Amid ruptures to the conventions of international cooperation, attenuated by the Covid-19 pandemic, South-South cooperation has the opportunity to prove that its hallmark characteristics of solidarity, self-reliance, equity, trust and reciprocity can prevail against the tectonic shifts under way in geopolitics.
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Effective cooperation in public health is based on the principle of mutual protection. Countries in the global South, China included, have thus prioritised humanity-based health and economic cooperation.
As the first country to launch a major campaign to contain the spread of Covid-19, China took an “all of government” and “all of society” approach and has achieved a commendable level of success. This success benefited from assistance from the rest of the world, the global South included, through donations and sales of personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and other medical equipment, and medicinal products.
Trade networks between China and virtually all its trading partners were adversely affected but kept open through the deployment of essential workers across the world. China reciprocated by mounting a campaign to send PPE and other medical supplies to countries in need.
The Chinese effort included government agencies working alongside Chinese corporations and charities. The Chinese leadership also hosted numerous summits online throughout the global South.
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China dispatches experts, medical supplies to African nations battling coronavirus
China dispatches experts, medical supplies to African nations battling coronavirus
What more can China do to work with the rest of the global South on the pandemic and economic recovery? There is no “one-size fits all” approach to experience sharing. For each society, effective health intervention must factor in the double burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases.
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