: The U.S. Can Only Defeat COVID-19 Through Global Solidarity #WorldNEWS “As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality exist in our world, none of us can truly rest. ” Those are the

The U.S. Can Only Defeat COVID-19 Through Global Solidarity #WorldNEWS
“As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality exist in our world, none of us can truly rest. ”
Those are the words of my grandfather, Nelson Mandela. Today, these words can be an urgent call to action for the world to stay focused on the imperatives of social justice even at a time when our own security and that of our family and friends has been threatened by the new coronavirus.
My dear aunt, Zindzi Mandela, who died last month, tested positive for COVID-19. As her family, we still do not know the cause of her death. As Madiba’s family, we did what he would have done, making public the fact that she had tested positive for Covid-19. If my grandfather was still here, he would mourn the death of Aunt Zindzi while encouraging everyone to think of the millions of others around the world who continue to die from this disease because of their social and economic standing in the society. I imagine that he would have rallied us to fight COVID-19 everywhere, to leave no one behind.

In the beginning, COVID-19 was often touted as a great equalizer – a pathogen that knew no race, class, creed or color. But no sooner had the pandemic escalated across the world, than a clear picture emerged of how the virus exploits inequality. In the U. S. the virus has taken a disproportionate toll on communities of color. An analysis by the APM Research Lab found that deaths of Black people and indigenous people in the U. S. were more than three times higher those of Whites.
In my country, South Africa, COVID-19 has hit the poorest and most vulnerable communities the hardest, killing thousands of people in rural areas and townships alike. For far too long, we have failed to end extreme poverty that continues to predispose people to diseases and other social ills. I am passionate about fighting for social justice and for a fairer world and these are the same issues that my grandfather fought for. Grandad would want us to think more and do more for the less fortunate, those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in South Africa, in the U. S. and all over the world.
COVID-19 cases in South Africa have now exceeded 500,000 and the disease is gaining full speed across Africa. The world must move fast to help contain the pandemic on the continent. In the most vulnerable countries, we could see more deaths from the ripple effects of the pandemic than from COVID-19 itself. Many of us fear that we are at an inflection point – we could either lose thousands of lives from COVID-19 and from HIV, TB and malaria after losing the gains we have made over the years or we could consolidate those gains and save thousands, or even millions, of lives.