The COVID-19 pandemic has made countries to understand the over-dependence on fragile global supply chains for basic foods and essential medical products, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday. At the virtual 12th BRICS summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, African president has said the pandemic has taught the world the necessity of strengthening health systems and being prepared for future emergencies of this nature and scale. 

He has called on the international community to support a comprehensive stimulus package for African countries. President also emphasized the alert showed by pandemic to invest in science, technology and innovation. The health crisis has taught that international solidarity must pave the way to stability, security and economic growth, president added. The developing economies are facing challenges of poverty, inequality and underdevelopment, the pandemic has taken an even greater toll, Ramaphosa said, as he called for unity among nations. He has called upon the BRICS countires to unite and demonstrate the collective will and to provide leadership. 

The BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) represents over 3.6 billion people, or half of the world's population. The BRICS countries have a combined GDP of USD 16.6 trillion. African president has called BRICS partners to support a comprehensive stimulus package for African countries, to enable the country to contain the disease and rebuild the damaged economies. The BRICS summit was also attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. 

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