During a live television debate last week, two French health officials, Jean-Paul Mira and Camille Locht, suggested the Covid-19 trials, which were set to be launched in Europe and Australia, be tested first in Africa.

Mira, the head of the intensive care unit at Cochin Hospital in Paris, said:

”It may be provocative. Should we not do this study in Africa where there are no masks, no treatment or intensive care, a little bit like it’s been done for certain AIDS studies, where among prostitutes, we try things, because we know that they are highly exposed and don’t protect themselves?”

Locht, the research director at France’s national health institute, agreed with his colleague:

”You are right. And by the way, we are thinking of in parallel about a study in Africa using this same approach.”

The pair of doctors were condemned by many, including Olivier Faure, of France’s Socialist Party, who said, “Africa is not the laboratory of Europe. Africans are not rats!” His sentiments were echoed by African footballing legends Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o. Drogba stated again that Africa was not a testing lab and denounced the demeaning and racist quality of the doctors’ suggestion. Eto’o called the pair “murderers.”

Many Africans around the continent believes that the vaccines are already in Africa —- not in the capital cities because they know that the majorities of people in the capital cities have access to smartphones and are knowledgeable about what’s going on around the globe. It is very sad to learn that the vaccines are already being distributed in some of the Africa’s villages.

Within the fact that African regions have not been deadly impacted by the virus compared to the other regions mainly as the Mainland China, America's and Europe. Are they testing the vaccines to people who doesn’t even have the COVID-19 or are they just injecting the virus to the villagers and vaccine them at later time!

About 20 African countries wanted to be a part of the testing but only 5 of the countries were selected ... Mali 🇲🇱, Senegal 🇸🇳 & DR Congo 🇨🇩 being some of them.

Many of us may blame the Europeans, Americans & the Chinese that manufactured the vaccines — I think we need to look little bit deeper into Africa’s leadership ... who is benefiting from it and what are we doing to prepare the future wellbeing & management of mother Africa?

I’m Afraid our elders in African Union don’t have much choice but to choose from what’s available on the table. And no one will change it for us but us. We are who we been waiting for, stay informed, share knowledge, collaborate & don’t stop learning and go build your villages remember collaboration lead to innovations.

To the young generation, use the platform you have, keep learning & sharing knowledge - better days for mother #Afrika will soon come.

This article has been updated since its original publication