As the third wave of COVID-19 hits the African continent hard, with the Delta variant spreading fast, there is an increased risk to the health of populations and economies. With no effective medicines available, vaccination remains the most effective weapon against the spread of the virus. However, in a world of three-speed access to the COVID vaccine, Africa is lagging behind. But there is still hope.

COVID-19 shed light on a sad reality: when there is a global threat, nationalism and protectionism rise. And the poorest always pay the heaviest toll. But it doesn't have to be that way. There is still time to make things right and prevent the situation from deteriorating.

I had my first injection of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, and I am fine. It was 3.30 pm yesterday, Friday 2 April 2021, when I entered the COVID-19 vaccination compound ... By 3.50 pm, it was all over. I walked away with my vaccination card in my hand with the date for the second injection.

On a sunny Monday morning, I got out of the constraints of working remotely to take care of personal matters. As I was driving my car through an area of human concentration, with a passenger beside me, in an acceptable traffic jam, a police officer beckoned me to park. Like any driver, I was worried for a moment, wondering what I could do. It quickly gave way to the certainties of someone who is up to date... and who knows his rights in a country where, I must confess, they are still respected.

In life, certain events mark us forever; for good or for bad. The event that marked me the most happened in the mid-70s, when I was just six years old.