According to social anthropologist Andrew Hartnack, “if we work together, we can actually solve problems.”
John Maytham speaks with University of Cape Town PhD social anthropologist Andrew Hartnack.
According to Hartnack in his most recent Daily Maverick article, the innovative collaborative working model created to implement South Africa’s Covid-19 vaccination program has a lot of potential for the future, particularly for fostering resilience in the face of both immediate and long-term challenges the nation faces.
He contends that the Covid- 19 vaccination program demonstrated what was possible when working together, despite differences, to overcome challenges in our country, even though it is simple to assume that it has been successful since the pandemic has subsided.
Hartnack contends that we do n’t fully appreciate the value of collaboration until we face difficulties, such as the pandemic, when the government feared the collapse of the health and economic system.
To ensure the vaccination program’s success, donors stepped in, raised R69 million to support it, and appointed more than 200 skilled government officials.
The partnership supported the state’s vaccine rollout by giving the health sector technical expertise and resources without violating government procurement laws.
Hartnack believes that strategies used to combat the nation’s Covid vaccination response can be applied to many more of our most pressing problems.

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We can actually find solutions to problems if we work together.
PhD-holding social anthropologist Andrew Hartnack from the University of Cape Town
Innovation results from criticism.
PhD-holding social anthropologist Andrew Hartnack from the University of Cape Town
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