[WATCH] Of vaccines and racism - Ramaphosa tells UN leaders Africa had to stand together

President Cyril Ramaphosa has told a  informal leaders' network meeting hosted by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, António Guterres, that Africa was forced to stand united in light of rich countries hoarding vaccines and bidding them out fo the market. 

"It conjured up a memory of the past where Africa, in the main, was always the last to get vaccines or any type of curative medicines," said Ramaphosa, citing access to anti-retroviral (ARV) medication for the treatment of HIV/Aids as an example. 

"We felt we needed to be up there with the developing countries, and we could only do so if we acted as one," he said. 

According to Ramaphosa the African Union (AU0 was key in strengthening the continent-wide response to the Covid-19 pandemic and enabled its members to pool its resources. 

Apart from fighting vaccine inequality, Ramaphosa says racism is still a very real reality. 

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"Nearly every week you now hear stories of racism that just disturbs one as you contemplate it," he said. 

Watch Ramaphosa' address below: