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View all search resultsIndonesia's 'socio-nationalism' in global vaccine diplomacy
As the world's countries scramble over limited vaccine supplies, Indonesia has risen to the forefront of global vaccine diplomacy by applying our founding concept of "socio-nationalism" with a socio-humanitarian bent.
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I
t has been a year since the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. The global economy slowed down, the trade and movement of goods, services and people were choked, and global supply chains disrupted.
In the early days of the pandemic, many worried about the scarcity of medical equipment due to the export ban. Nevertheless, people always find ways to solve problems. When the world fell short of face masks due to surging demand, textile factories shifted their business to produce masks en masse.
The same situation occurred with other medical equipment like personal protective equipment, respirators and ventilators.
This state of scarcity became a political issue between Europe and China. When European Union states forbade exports of medical devices among themselves, China sent aid to several European countries that were facing shortages.
There were concerns that China's maneuvers during the pandemic would change Europe's geopolitics. The export ban seemed to be a scourge.
A similar situation is now unfolding with COVID-19 vaccines. The EU and the United Kingdom are accusing each other of banning exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is a British-Swedish product. The EU feels it has the right to ban exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine that is being produced at a factory in Leiden, the Netherlands, because it signed a contract to buy 90 million doses of the vaccine. The EU also banned exports of 250,000 doses of the vaccine from a factory in Anagni, Italy, to Australia, in order to fulfill the vaccine needs of its member countries.
The world has been witnessing the rise of a political phenomenon: vaccine nationalism.
