The South African government will nominate the Cuban Medical Brigade for the Nobel Peace Prize following its assistance in the fight against the spread of COVID-19. The development was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on Monday night. “In recognition of this effort, the South African Cabinet has approved a proposal to nominate the Henry Reeve International Contingent of Doctors Specialised in Disaster Situations and Serious Epidemics – or as they commonly are known, the Cuban Medical Brigade – for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize,” said the President.
‘True to its history, this small island nation has demonstrated solidarity with the hardest-hit countries and sent more than 3,700 Cubans throughout the world to assist in the fight against COVID-19,’ Ramaphosa said. ‘In recognition of this effort, the South African cabinet has approved a proposal to nominate the Henry Reeve International Contingent of Doctors Specialised in Disaster Situations and Serious Epidemics — or as they commonly are known, the Cuban Medical Brigade — for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
Ramaphosa described the arrival of the vaccines from the Serum Institute in India on Monday as the beginning of a new chapter in South Africa’s struggle against the coronavirus. This vaccine was developed by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca together with the University of Oxford. South Africa was one of the countries where clinical trials were held to assess its efficacy.”The arrival of these vaccines contains the promise that we can turn the tide on this disease that has caused so much devastation and hardship in our country and across the world. “The speed and scale at which new vaccines have been developed is unprecedented in human history and represents the monumental progress that humanity can achieve in the face of a common threat,” the president said as he outlined how healthcare workers would be the top priority in the first phase of the vaccination drive.
