Pandemics: A social justice issue - The Mail & Guardian

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To repeatedly launch into wartime mode is reactive. Viewing pandemics through a social justice lens is much more constructive and enduring – even beyond these challenging coronavirus times, writes AyeshaJacub.

beginning Thursday night. The visual impact of having armed forces on the streets is striking. It shows a government that is serious about mitigating the impact and spread of the coronavirus. Words such as “lockdown” and “viral threat” conjure wartime sentiment. We look toward a strong wartime leader and some people may take comfort in seeing a military presence on the streets.

Logistically, increased numbers of “boots on the ground” can be useful. The military would be trained in basic medical services, if only first aid, and it can assist in disaster relief efforts. Patrolling the streets, they serve as a deterrent and a policing force. The downside is that efforts are ad hoc, and a huge amount of resources are diverted to stop-gap measures, which are necessary during an emergency, but could have been better spent during inter-pandemic periods with greater long-term utility. The solidarity fund proposed by President Ramaphosa yesterday would be essential. However, depending upon donor contributions to keep a country running is hardly a sustainable or replicable solution.

This pandemic has already placed public health higher on national and international agendas. Rather than see the issue through a securitisation lens, progressive policymakers and public health advocates have the opportunity to frame pandemics as an issue of social justice.

 

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AyeshaJacub Framing it as a security threat IS the only possible approach in SA given the levels of crime and inequality in the country Do you think the people in the informal settlements and townships won't riot/protest in two weeks when the money and food ran out? Please park the wokeness

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