HUMAN RIGHTS AND ACCESS TO COVID-19 VACCINES IN RURAL SOUTH AFRICA: THE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The purpose of this article is to explore the role of local government in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly concerning access to COVID-19 vaccines. This is done by first looking at the local government institution as a concept while highlighting its centrality in managing disasters and pandemics. The article then draws on literature to show the challenges and complexities faced by the local government as an institution and how these challenges combine to significantly affect the capacity of local government’s performance in rural areas generally and during the COVID-19 pandemic specifically. The discussion is then narrowed to the role of local government in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines with specific reference to rural areas in South Africa. The discussion adopts a human rights perspective by considering equitable distribution, access to information, the right to health care services, and the right to emergency medical treatment. Other relevant constitutional rights such as equality, human dignity, and life are also discussed or mentioned. The article concludes with recommendations on how the role of local government in facilitating access to COVID-19 vaccines for rural communities can be enhanced, including adopting an intersectional human rights-based approach in the rollout of such vaccines. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that COVID-19 is a new disease. Its vaccines have been recently and quickly developed; hence issues of access, human rights, and the role of local government are critical, particularly in rural settings.