The massive increase in the spread of the Corona virus in Tunisia has prompted other Arab countries to interfere with the supply of vaccines and medical aid, in an attempt by the leaders of these countries to flex their diplomatic muscle and gain some influence in the country, according to an article published by the Washington Post.
According to the same source, countries that have developed their own vaccines — including China, Russia and the United States — were the ones most easily able to use them as a diplomatic tool.
Sarah Yerkes, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, talked about a “proxy battle of the Arab world playing out within vaccine diplomacy, but also in the general arena of foreign assistance in Tunisia”.
In addition to confronting challenges shared across much of the developing world, including a weak health system and widespread vaccine hesitancy, the Tunisian government has “basically failed to operate effectively” in managing the pandemic, Yerkes added.
