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Connect the World

India Opening Vaccines to All Ages 18 Plus Starting Saturday; United Nations: UK Contribution Falls From $211 Million to $32 Million; VP Harris & Speaker Pelosi Flank Biden at Historic Address; National Lockdown to Begin Soon in Turkey; Green Burial in United Kingdom; Pandemic Piles on Stress for Overwhelmed Mother. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired April 29, 2021 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN, Atlanta. This is "Connect the World".

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Hello and welcome to "Connect the World". I'm Lynda Kinkade filling in for my colleague Becky Addison.

Good to have you with us.

Well, the scenes from India's Capital today are shocking and difficult to watch. Crematoriums in New Delhi and some of the country's other big cities

are operating around the clock as cases pile up and the death toll rises.

India is reporting a global record of nearly 380,000 new cases Thursday, now more than 18 million infections in total and more than 3600 deaths. And

amidst the suffering people are still voting as you can see lining up at polling stations in the West Bengal State.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been criticized for allowing large campaign rallies and religious festival, is telling voters to follow COVID

19 protocols but to get out and vote. International help is now on the way some of it already there.

These are oxygen canisters being sent from the United States. Countries across the globe have answered the call to provide life saving equipment.

India's government is also trying to speed up its slow vaccine rollout expanding eligibility to anyone 18 and older starting Saturday.

The Health Ministry says 12 million doses are in the supply chain both in storage and on the way to their destinations. But less than 10 percent of

the population has been vaccinated so far and vaccines remain scarce with state ministers appealing for more doses as soon as possible.

Well, our Correspondent Sam Kiley was at a New Delhi crematorium earlier and some of the images in his report are disturbing and difficult to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the Seemapuri Crematorium where the dead have to join a queue their relatives

or friends have to take tickets from an office in order to get access to the crematorium that is dealing with about 150 people a day almost all of

them victims of the COVID pandemic.

A pandemic that the government seem to indicate earlier this year, that somehow past India by the India had somehow reached the level of herd

immunity that even countries that are vaccinated on a vast scale have not reached.

Now, India's a net exporter of vaccines, people here squarely blame the government for this catastrophe that has unfolded. And this after all, is a

nation that can put aircraft carriers at sea that has a space program that is the center for many international corporations of IT and development.

But it's also a country where there are catastrophic differences between the very rich and the very poor.

And here, it's been extraordinary because a lot of the victims of this pandemic have been middle class. They're the ones perhaps who can afford to

have their family's burn in a facility like this. And it may indicate one of the reasons as to why a lot of the estimates for the number of dead and

the number of people in India who've been infected may be woefully inadequate. Sam Kiley, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, Sam was also there at the crematorium well into the night. Here's what he told me last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY: Well Lynda, just in this area alone, it's about the size of three quarters of a football pitch there are close to 50 pyres burning, this

crematorium believed it would probably process about 150 bodies today. There's estimated officials about 600 people dying every day here in New

Delhi.

But the truth of the matter is the numbers must be much higher in this crematorium. The dead actually have to join a queue before they can be seen

before they can be given their last rites. Their people accompanying them have to take a ticket like you weren't going to see the doctor or getting a

bank appointment, wait their turn, and then they will be brought out to one of these locations.

Ghee which is butter like oil substance poured on them. The wood piled on top and they're given their last rites very often on attended by anybody

else other than perhaps one family member or a friend. There was one gentleman I spoke to earlier on today, who led that pyre there and he was

in attendance only because no other member of the deceased family could be there because they had all caught COVID Lynda.

This is a catastrophic result of a failure in public health. Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister here believed few months ago that India had broken the

back of the pandemic that they somehow achieved herd immunity and India was becoming a net exporting nation for anti COVID vaccines.

[11:05:00]

KILEY: Indeed the vaccine program, excuse me doesn't get underway in serious earnest until May the first when the number of people from 18 and

above will be allowed to get the vaccinations there has been a rush of applications. But there's nothing like the level of supply that it can be

met.

And at the same time he has encouraged political campaigning and local elections for his BJP party mass meetings, people not being socially

distanced at these meetings. And then the Hindi festival of Kumbh Mela where more than 2 million people are believed to have attended all cheek by

jowl or plunging in and out of the river Ganges celebrating this very important Hindu festival for them, but all of them participating in a super

spreader event. And I'm afraid this is the result. Lynda?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, Sam Kiley there, reporting in New Delhi. And as India struggles through what has become the world's worst COVID 19 outbreak, you

can help you can go to cnn.com/impact. You'll find a list of organizations offering assistance and what you can do to get involved.

Well, Alexey Navalny has a message for Vladimir Putin. He's calling the Russian President a "Naked King who wants to rule indefinitely". The jailed

Kremlin critic is describing himself as a skeleton. A short time ago, he appeared in public for the first time since ending his hunger strike via

video link during a Moscow court hearing.

Navalny lost his appeal to overturn a defamation conviction. But he used his time at the hearing to denounce Russia's justice system. Well, we get

right to Moscow CNN's Frederik Pleitgen joining us now live. Fred, we know Navalny just ended a three week hunger strike in a Russian prison. Clearly,

it looked as though this is all taking a toll on him.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I would say a very big toll that it's taken on him. It was really - I wouldn't say

shocking, but certainly quite troubling to see the state that Alexey Navalny, at least his body was in. You could see him sitting there in that

very tiny room via video link, his head shaved, as is customary in those penal colonies wearing the uniform of the penal colony.

We later learned that he was actually on a tuberculosis ward of the penal colony, because of course, he had been having health issues to begin with

was then also on that hunger strike that made his health even worse. And of course, we heard from his doctors who saw some of the data that they

believe that he was close to dying at certain point, or at least that the threat was there.

So certainly, this is someone who's still very much recovering from that. And some of the things that he said, certainly sounded that way. He said

he's still weighs about 72 kilograms. This is a man who's about a meter 90, maybe a meter 92 tall. And when he came back to Russia, they say, weighed

about 94 kilograms.

He currently says that he's eating about four tablespoons of porridge a day. So still not very much still someone whose health seems a little bit

frail, but who certainly was nonetheless combative, and you're absolutely right. He ripped into the Russian justice system, he ripped into the court,

and he also ripped into Russian President Vladimir Putin.

I want to read you some of what he said in that final speech before the verdict was brought down. He said, "You are all traitors, meaning the

court, you and the naked King, meaning Vladimir Putin are implementing a plan to seize Russia and the Russians should be turned into slaves, their

wealth will be taken away from them, they will be deprived of any prospects, you have implemented that plan".

But then he goes on to say, "No matter how hard you try to steal a victory, you will not succeed". And it was shortly after that, that the court came

back and said that shot down his appeal to try and overturn that conviction. Four defamations of course, Alexey Navalny right now serving a

jail sentence anyway.

And then of course, his organization is currently also under a lot of pressure, it's already been ordered to suspend its operation. And there's a

court case of which there was also a hearing today, but there's going to be another one coming up, where they're - the prosecutors general here of this

country would like to label that organization as an extremist organization, which would give it about the same legal status as ISIS here in this

country.

So clearly, a lot of pressure coming from the Russian state but clearly also Alexey Navalny still very much defined in the face of that, Lynda.

KINKADE: Yes, very much defiant, certainly using that platform to launch into that speech. Frederik Pleitgen in Moscow, good to have you with us

thank you. Well, the UN is slamming a move by the UK to slash its aid to the United Nations Family Planning Program.

Now that cut amounts to 85 percent of the funding that it had pledged to the program. One UN official calls the move devastating. She says the

program expected 211 million US dollars, but we'll only get 32 million. Well, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says his country had to do it due to the

pandemic.

We want to get a closer look at what these cuts will mean? We're joined by Diene Keita. She is the Deputy Executive Director of the UN Population

Fund. Good to have you with us.

[11:10:00]

DIENE KEITA, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNFPA: Thank you, good to be with you.

KINKADE: So the UK is the biggest donor to the UN Family Planning Program. And it's now set to cut from 221 million US dollars this year to just $32

million next year. Describe the impact that will have?

KEITA: Thank you so much for having me. This will have a devastating impact on women and girls and their families across the world. We've - 180 million

US dollar, the UNFPA supply partnership would have helped prevented around a quarter million of maternal and child death, and 14.6 million of

unintended pregnancies. The impact will be absolutely incredible on the life of women and younger across the world.

KINKADE: Apologies go on.

KEITA: Sorry. The needs of women and girls are even greater than they were before the pandemic. In 2020 12 million women lost access to family

planning services leading to 1.4 million unintended pregnancies. The truth is that when the funding stops, women and girls suffer, especially the poor

ones, those living in remote underserved community and those living through humanitarian crisis.

KINKADE: Diene, the UN Family Planning Program operates in 150 countries? Former U.S. President Trump also said he would cut funding to the program.

The funding he was referring to though had already been committed, right?

KEITA: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. It is funding--

KINKADE: Go on. We've got a delay here. Sorry about that.

KEITA: The United Kingdom has historically been the main donor for UNFPA supplies program. And in 2019, they committed to a total of 425 million

British pounds for 2025 period. So now they are retreating from that commitment. And they have announced another 60 percent cut to the core

funding as well.

In a country level, let's - if I take Zambia, for instance, that will make 70 percent of the entire program out of the country. You take a woman at

the human level, you take it in Asia, or into DRC women we have met, they will not be able to assure that they pregnancy - they are going to have the

necessary product to take care of them that the birth will be safe. And then the child will come alive safely. These are the real issue with the

cut of the funding the human face is behind it.

KINKADE: We have some sound from Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Let's just take a listen to what he has to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We spent 407 billion pounds - 407 billion pounds, protecting people jobs, livelihoods already during this

pandemic. Now, we're still spending 10 billion pounds per year on oversee date. That is a huge amount. We are still one of the biggest donors in the

world.

I think people in this country should be very proud of that. And when we get - but I also think I also think that they will understand and I know

that other countries around the world understand that particular pressures of the pandemic. The mean we have to economize in that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The British Prime Minister there Boris Johnson defending this moves to cut foreign aid and of course, it's not just aid to family

planning services. It's also across the board and there is never a good time to cut aid to the vulnerable. But right now in the midst of a global

pandemic, some of that aid would typically go to clean water and sanitation that also is going to be impacted, right?

KEITA: Absolutely. Lynda, UNFPA recognize the challenging situation facing by main donors government, yet we deeply regret our long standing

partnership to step away from its commitment at this specific times. In every - this is a time when we need to renew commitment despite all

difficulty.

We understand Prime Minister Johnson that this is taxpayer money. Let me tell you, sexual and reproductive health everywhere is a good investment

for taxpayer money. It saves lives really, in real time.

[11:15:00]

KINKADE: It really does. Diene Keita, good to get your perspective on all of this and we wish you all the best.

KEITA: Thank you so much for having us. Thank you.

KINKADE: Well, Greece is being accused of pushback operations against migrants at sea. A nonprofit group is suing Athens for allegedly abandoning

nearly 200 migrants in life rafts. Now the lawsuit claims that they were violently attacked by commandos from boats operated by Greek law

enforcement at sea, and that this incident is not the first. Athens has denied the allegations.

The U.S. President amounts 100 days in office, Joe Biden touting what he's done so far and putting the rest of the world on notice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Now, after just 100 days, I can report to the nation America is on the move again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Latin America is reaching for a lifeline as hospitals fill up and vaccinations of failing to keep up with demand, the details coming up on

that story. Plus, Turkey trying to keep a spike from turning into a crisis we're going to live to Istanbul just minutes before new lockdown is set to

take place.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: 100 days in office, U.S. President Joe Biden marking a milestone in heading to the state the State of Georgia this hour to boost support for

his plans to overhaul the country's infrastructure to spur job growth and a sharp education and childcare.

Well, a lot has changed since he was sworn in on January 20th addressing a joint session of Congress Wednesday; the U.S. President noted an historic

first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President, no president has ever said those words from this podium. No president has ever said those words. And

it's about time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: President Biden also touted the work his administration has done to distribute COVID vaccines to every corner of the country a critical step

towards getting the U.S. back to normal in this ongoing pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: And inherited a nation we all did that was in crisis the worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great

Depression, the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War. Now, after just 100 days, I can report to the nation. America is on the move

again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The U.S. President also had a message for China that message the U.S. will stand up for itself and its interests.

[11:20:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: In my discussion with President Xi I told him, we welcome the competition we're not looking for conflict. But I made absolutely clear

that we will defend America's interests across the board.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: And he had a similar message for Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Their actions will have consequences, they turn out to be true, and they turned out to be true. So I responded directly proportionally to

Russia's interference in our elections, in the cyber attacks on our government, our business, they did both of these things. And I told them,

we would respond and we have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, CNN Political Analyst Josh Rogin joins me now. He's also a Columnist for "The Washington Post". Good to see Josh. So take us through

what has changed since Joe Biden took office because this seemed to be a speech that focused more on hope, over fear.

And he'd certainly took the time to tout his vaccine campaign rollout which he saw 200 million doses, which was double what he promised to achieve in

the first 100 days. I think we might be having a problem. Josh, can you hear us, Josh?

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I'm with you. Thank you. Can you route the question, please?

KINKADE: Josh, I just want to ask you what has changed since Joe Biden took office, because this speech seemed to be more about hope, than fear. And he

focused a lot on the success of the vaccination campaign here in the U.S., which has seen 200 million vaccine doses administered, which is twice what

he had promised to achieve in the first 100 days in office.

ROGIN: Well, that's exactly right. Joe Biden, made a speech promoting what essentially is a new tone and a new conversation in America and in American

politics, whereby he's calling for the nation to come together after four years of division, and offering some ideas about how to get there and

touting some of the accomplishments of his first 100 days, including the vaccines.

Of course, the vaccine program was in part due to the Trump Administration's efforts before Joe Biden was President. But the point here

is that the nation should be on the same page, he encouraged people to get their vaccines and then to set aside their political differences and join

together to fight this pandemic.

The problem, of course, is that the politics in Washington have not repaired and that Democrats and Republicans are not working together and

that many of the programs and accomplishments and legislative ideas that President Biden is putting forward or not supported by Republicans, and

there's not a real big prospect of them working together on that.

Nevertheless, we do have a change of tone; we do have a change of attitude, and a break from at least the rhetoric of the Trump Administration. That is

good in as far as it goes. But that hasn't actually solved any of our deep seated problems yet.

KINKADE: It sounded to some extent Josh that Joe Biden tried to appeal to the Trump base when he spoke about job growth. And he spoke about what he

called a blue collar blueprint to build America saying that to create jobs, he don't need a college degree.

ROGIN: Well, that's right. This is always been Joe Biden's focus as long as he's been a politician is to focus on that blue collar middle class, part

of the electorate. It's a big part of why he was elected President because those voters, even those who had voted for Obama largely went to Trump

because they had felt that their concerns were not being addressed.

So now we see the Biden Administration making everything about blue collar jobs. The China bill is about blue collar jobs. The infrastructure bill is

about blue collar jobs, the green energy stuff is about blue collar jobs so in a way, he's branding, everything with that blue collar job kind of push,

but it's smart politics.

And it's the way that - it's the way that they're trying to get the American people on board with the ideas that they already had.

KINKADE: And just looking at those images, we're seeing two women up on that day or so the podium behind U.S. President Biden, as certainly an

historic moment that has never happened before he made a point of noting that because representation in representation matters.

ROGIN: Absolutely. I loved what Nancy Pelosi said about that, when they asked her what do you think about it? She said, it's normal, you know, it

should be normal. We shouldn't have a world where we're shocked to see a woman, Vice President of the United States, and hopefully that won't, that

will be the case from now on.

And, you know, we have a long way to go for both gender equality, and racial equality, and all sorts of other social injustices that are in our

society. But the point that Biden was trying to make is that we're making progress and perfect as we are as a country and as a society. We're on the

right path. And that's a really good illustration of that, I think.

KINKADE: And when it comes to progress, we know that it's 70 percent of seniors here in the U.S. have been vaccinated and 50 percent of the

population eligible for vaccine have had at least one shot.

[11:25:00]

KINKADE: But there is a lot of hesitancy there are mass vaccination sites in certain states now closing. States like Ohio and Texas, he has to still

try to push for that to happen for that herd immunity that is going to be something that he's going to have to tackle in the next 100 days.

ROGIN: Yes, there's a lot of vaccine hesitancy some of that is legitimate. Some of that is spawned and pushed by forces, for their own interests in

their own purposes. The politicization of vaccines, in my opinion, is a tragedy and something that we all have to work to work against.

But I also think that as more people get the vaccines and you know, a lot of people that I talked to traveling around the country recently, because

I've had the vaccines say the same thing. They say we want to wait to see if the people who got the vaccines are OK after a couple of months.

So I think there's a big pool of people who will get the vaccines. Ultimately, the education has to ramp up, we have to explain this more to

people treat their concerns respectfully, and then encourage them to do the thing that's right for both their own health and for the public health

because that's what's important.

KINKADE: And Josh, as you noticed in an article you wrote for cnn.com Biden is on track to make a record number of executive orders undoing President

Donald Trump, Former President Trump's executive orders. Certainly there no doubt concerns that that could happen again at those could be whatever he

does, in the next four years could be undone it should there be a Republican President next time around?

I'm just being told we're going to have to wrap so Josh, I'm going to leave it there. But good to have you on the show as always, thanks so much.

ROGIN: Thanks.

KINKADE: Well, as President Biden and the west criticize China, it's clear the country is plowing ahead into the future. This rocket made a

spectacular lift off today from Southern China. It's coming from the Cornerstone of China's new space station. This is the first of about a

dozen trips to build a station between now and next year.

Now the rocket is holding a module where the astronauts will live two other modules will be used for scientific experiments. And the station is

expected to stay in orbit for at least a decade.

Well, coming up on "Connect the World" more COVID vaccines are starting to arrive across Africa. But will they be enough as countries try to protect

populations against the virus? We'll have more on what's being done to get more shots in people's arms?

And later on advice on coping with the Coronavirus pandemic, for a man who knows both hardship and hope, we'll have his inspiring story ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World". I'm Lynda Kinkade. A bleak picture is developing in North and South America. The Pan

American Health Organization says one out of every four COVID deaths last week was in the Americas. ICUs are filling up and countries that are

scrambling to secure vaccines.

We're looking at the scene in Bogota, Colombia, after demonstrators took to the streets furious that the government's handling of the pandemic, and a

tax reform bill, they say will make the situation worse. Well, Matt Rivers is in Mexico City to bring us up to date with the measures being taken in

Latin America.

Matt, as I mentioned earlier, a quarter of all deaths happened last week in the Americas, nearly every country in Central America is reporting a rise

in infections.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it's just kind of heartbreaking, Lynda, because, you know, we've been reporting on this situation in Latin

America, here in Mexico in Brazil, for well over a year now.

And at this point, you know, especially when you compare what's going on in the United States, you know, which is just the northern neighbor here to

where we are in Mexico, and you see the vaccinations and you see the cases dropping. And in Latin America, unfortunately, you know, it's just not

happening in the same way.

You've got surging infections in just about every single country. In this region, you've got a place like Guatemala, places like Costa Rica; they're

seeing their hospitals reaching capacity in Colombia in the major cities their ICU capacity is on the rise. And countries like Paraguay, for example

were also seeing cases continue to rise.

I guess you could say the lone bright spot right now in terms of cases and deaths would be Brazil, because after their peak from a few weeks ago,

those numbers are trending downwards. They're still higher than they were throughout generally most of this pandemic, but they are trending in the

right direction.

The problem there is that a recent study out of the Southeastern State of Sao Paulo, it's Brazil's largest state, says that roughly 90 percent of all

recent infections are due to this P-1 variant which originated scientists say in Brazil, that is concerning because that variant is known to be more

transmissible than other variants.

So you look around the region, you're looking for bright spots, it's difficult to find, especially when you consider the state of vaccinations,

Lynda, which across this region just is going very, very slowly.

KINKADE: It certainly is. I mean, even north of America, Canada's infection rate is surpassed the U.S. for the first time. But where you are in Mexico

City, we have spoken about the increasing number of younger patients with COVID-19 that are now being admitted to hospital.

RIVERS: Yes, and that was something that we were talking about when we were in Brazil about a month ago. And that was something that we're talking to

emergency room doctors, they kept telling us we're seeing 20, 30, 40 year old patients getting severely sick as opposed to the beginning of the

pandemic when it was older people.

Now part of that is due to the fact that what limited vaccine supply there is in this part of the world is generally going to older people. So those

infection rates are going to go down the demographics in ICUs would then subsequently change a little bit.

But there's also concern amongst scientists, you know that these new variants, maybe they affect younger people a little bit more. It's not

something that's settled in science, there still needs to be a lot more research done. But anecdotally you talk to doctors up and down this region,

and they are seeing younger people in their ICUs, which is just yet another reminder that this pandemic in this part of the world is just not over.

KINKADE: It certainly isn't. In many respects the festival months of this year, in that part of the world has been worse than the peak of last year.

We will continue to stay on this story Matt Rivers for us. Thank you so much.

Well, I want to go to Europe now and the country with the highest COVID infection rate there Turkey. It's now minutes away from a strict nearly

three week national lockdown. Streets have been packed with people stocking up getting supplies and boarding buses to try to get out of the city all

together.

Turkey took less than stringent measures earlier this month when the country saw more people than ever get the virus and die of it. At one point

some 60,000 cases a day were being reported. Well, CNN's Arwa Damon joins us now from Istanbul. And Arwa this lockdown set to happen in less than 30

minutes and as I just mentioned, people that are stocking up on supplies?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're stocking up on supplies that they think they won't be able to access Lynda. They're also

trying to or at least they were before the bank shut down get to the bank get to the notary. Banks and government offices are going to be operating

on limited hours only.

[11:35:00]

DAMON: But yes, this is going to be a tough nearly three week period for people who are here. It is the holy month of Ramadan, at the end of which

you also have the Muslim holiday of Eid. So people are also trying to go out and get presents for the children, although celebrations will obviously

be significantly muted this year.

Now, a lot of people when you talk to them, they say that they understand why the government had to do this. But there was a certain level of

frustration that this wasn't done sooner. There's a certain level of frustration that when the government eased restrictions earlier in the

year, it arguably ease them too fast by allowing dining to take place indoors.

Then we also had a number of occasions where there were large on political rallies that took place, and then people them also got complacent. And this

is ultimately the end result of that. What the government wants to do is, as quickly as possible bring it down that infection rate to 5000 people a

day.

And then we're talking about right now at hovering at around above 40,000. Why does the government want to do this not just to try to bring down

infection rates among its own population, but also because Turkey can't afford the blow to its own economy, and it wants to save its tourism

season?

KINKADE: Again, speaking of tourists Arwa, tourists despite this lockdown, as I understand it, are still free to travel there?

DAMON: Yes, they are. And this is something that Turkey has done since COVID began. On weekends, whenever they would implement weekend lock downs,

tourists would be exempt from that. They are exempt from curfew hours and right now, yes, they are free to travel here tourist sites will be open and

significantly less crowded.

Of course, tourists also though, will not be able to go out to restaurants go out to cafes, only at the hotel where they are staying. And so on the

one hand Turkey saying you know come visit, you're pretty much going to have the country to yourself and all of the touristic sites to yourself but

on the other hand, is also still trying to give out that image of being, you know, a key touristic destination.

Look, Turkey relies heavily on its tourism income to try to boost its economy. And as I was saying, given how badly the economy has been doing

lately, Turkey must certainly does not want to risk at this stage, giving that impression that tourists are not welcome or that tourists are

potentially in danger.

KINKADE: And Arwa, Turkey started its vaccination campaign in mid January. Just explain for us how that's progressing and which vaccines they've been

able to procure?

DAMON: Well, you know, Lynda, it started off fairly well, but it has slowed down right now and Turkey is struggling a little bit with its vaccine

supply. Turkey received the Chinese Vaccine Sinovac. We also have a few million doses of Pfizer and now Turkey has just inked a deal with Russia

for the Sputnik vaccine.

But this is also something that is going to be quite critical as it is elsewhere in the world for Turkey to be able to open up moving forward.

They have also the government has said been - they're going to start lengthening the timeframe between the vaccine.

So extending, for example, if you've gotten the BioNTech Pfizer vaccine, you won't be getting your second dose four weeks later, but rather six to

eight weeks later. So they're trying to stretch out. It would seem the supply that they already have to get as many people vaccinated as possible

at this stage while at the same time sourcing other vaccines elsewhere.

Turkey also is in the process and phase three testing trials of its own domestically produced vaccine. So most certainly the government is looking

everywhere to try to get as many people vaccinated as possible because as we keep saying over and over again, getting those vaccines into people's

arms is going to be key to bringing this virus under control.

KINKADE: Absolutely and certainly will be key. Arwa Damon for us in Istanbul, take care and thanks so much. Well, many countries across the

African Continent are also lagging behind the rest of the world in rolling out COVID vaccines. High vaccine hesitancy, public awareness challenges and

delayed shipments and just some of the obstacles getting in the way. Eleni Giokos shows us how the W.H.O. is trying to help?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): From Guinea Bissau to Uganda and Malawi vaccines to fight COVID-19 has been arriving across Africa. The

UN Children's Fund UNICEF does the logistics and an alliance led by the World Health Organization funds the efforts.

[11:40:00]

GIOKOS (voice over): It's an initiative called Covax to get vaccines to the world's poorest countries. The great majority of African countries have

received their first doses to Covax. But for only a fraction of the population, and several, including the Central African Republic, and Chad

are yet to get their first shipments.

For now South Africa is not tapping into Covax while Zimbabwe has turned to China for its vaccine supply. Nowhere in Africa besides Morocco, has more

than 3 percent of the population yet received a dose. Worldwide just .2 percent of vaccine doses have been administered in low income countries.

DR. PHIONAH ATUHEBWE, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: It is very heartbreaking to see a young 19 year old child from the global not get vaccinated, while

a frontline health worker in Africa working inside a COVID-19 treatment center not able to access this vaccine. It's quite heartbreaking.

This is a global issue and we are saying no one is safe until everyone safe. We need to reach a certain level at least get the priority groups

vaccinated in Africa.

GIOKOS (voice over): But there are other factors including vaccine skepticism. In Tanzania President John Magufuli said that God would protect

Tanzanians and there was no need for lockdowns.

JOHN MAGUFULI, TANZANIAN PRESIDENT: We have lived for over a year without the virus. And a good evidence as most of you here don't wear masks.

GIOKOS (voice over): Magufuli died in March. His successors Samia Suluhu son has indicated she wants Tanzanians vaccinated per distribution and lack

of public awareness have also been issues. And in some countries, thousands of vaccine doses have been discarded poses in the distribution of two

vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have not helped.

GIOKOS (on camera): And there's another problem. This is ASPEN Pharmacare in Kabaka, South Africa and its producing millions of doses of the Johnson

& Johnson vaccine. But in Africa, manufacturing capacity of vaccines is a rarity. And that's because this continent of 1.2 billion people imports 99

percent of vaccines. The African Union and the W.H.O. want patents waived and indigenous production ramped up.

DR. ATUHEBWE: We were able to get the amount of vaccines we needed in the past, even when we're importing them. But right now we have seen that

because we don't have that manufacturing capacity. This is the reason that the whole globe is accessing vaccine that we're not able to access. Right

now even with the donor funding, even when governments have committed to buy these vaccines. They are no vaccine.

GIOKOS (voice over): For now Africa is playing catch up in getting vaccines to its people. The Vaccine Alliance hopes distribution will quicken in the

second half of this year, with 2 million doses reaching the consonant every week. But there's a long way to go Eleni Giokos, CNN Kabaka, South Africa.

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KINKADE: Well, the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa says the Covax plan is destined to fail. That's what he told to our

Christiane Amanpour in an interview right here on CNN take a listen.

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THABO MAKGABO, ARCHBISHOP, ANGLICAN CHURCH OF SOUTHERN AFRICA: If one looks at the Covax system, and its intention, it's supposed to help the global

south and the poorest of the poor countries to vaccinate only 3 percent. It is destined to fail. And in my context, I've seen people die without saying

goodbye to their families. And if one looks at the scares in India in introduction, one is anxious that should we have that magnitude in the

continent.

The continent will be wiped off the face of this year, whilst others are hoarding. So this is not a moral issue only. But it is an issue of greed.

And it is an issue that the world should really speak up and stand up against such behavior in the face of death.

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KINKADE: Well still to come on the show, protecting the planet beyond the grave green burials in the UK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:00]

KINKADE: And now "Call to Earth" CNN's initiative to promote a more sustainable future. Today's piece is about how to be good to the planet,

even after you die? The consecrated forest in Bedfordshire in the UK is leading the way the green funerals.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a spiritual place. It's a wonderful place. And when people have had a funeral here, they want to stay here and be here

because they can sense that there's something special.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most funeral practices come with an environmental cost. For example, some of the materials used to build caskets don't

biodegrade imported stone for tombstones adds to shipping emissions, and cremations create air pollution. In fact, it's estimated that cremations

released 1.7 4 billion pounds of CO2 in the U.S. alone each year. But around the world, there's a growing movement to make funeral practices more

sustainable.

CHARLES ROYDON, THE REVEREND CANON, ST. MARKS CHURCH: We just wanted to be able to provide an opportunity for people to choose to be buried in a way

that was helpful to the planet, as opposed to damaging; it was called Green Burials or natural burials or woodland burials.

When we first started Woodland Burials it was regarded as being very wacky and I think that time has now moved on. Many people are now choosing

Woodland Burial just because they want to be friendly to the planet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the UK, the first natural burial ground was in Carlisle in 1993. Today, there are around 270. In Bedfordshire, the St.

Albans Woodland Burial Trust has taken advantage of an old English law to protect their woodland burial ground forever.

ROYDON: We're doing something which had longevity built into it. And the way that you can provide the greatest protection in English law for any

site is to consecrate it. Sets the land aside for eternity, for the purpose of which is prescribed, in this case, wooden burials.

So what we're trying to do is make sure that anything that we bring in here is not going to impact adversely on the environment. So you'll see the

monuments they're made of wood. We don't have stones, we don't import granite.

The coffins themselves, they will be made of biodegradable materials, you'll have wood or wicker or willow. The bodies themselves won't be

embalmed, so we're not introducing any of those nasty chemicals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many funeral practices are marketed as environmentally friendly from human composting to biodegradable urns that break down once

they're buried. One of the greenest burials involves dressing the body and clothes made of natural fibers for going embalming fluid and using a

natural biodegradable coffin made of local materials.

ELLEN MUSGROVE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MUSGROW WILLOW LTD: We grow 60 varieties of willow on around about 200 acres of Somerset farmland the number of

coffins that we produce now in excess of 100 a week. We've had many, many families come along to help with coffins for their loved ones and found it

incredibly cathartic.

[11:50:00]

MUSGROVE: When they go there's a lift in them. They're much happier, they're laughing, and they've had a chance to chat about the person that's

passed away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As the climate crisis worsens, more people may choose to be laid to rest in the way that is good for the planet. In the U.S., a

2019 survey found that more than half of respondents were interested in exploring the options for green burial. However, only 85 cemeteries in the

US have been certified under the Green Burial Council. The movement is still young.

ROYDON: If we could have woodland burial grounds creeping out across our country, and people being able to choose to be buried in a place where

there are trees planted and nature flourishes. I think we could do an immense amount of good in terms of returning wood into our country.

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KINKADE: And we will continue showcasing inspirational stories like this as part of the initiative here at CNN. Let us know what you're doing to answer

the call with a #calltoearth. We're going to take a quick break, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back. Well, all week we've been bringing you exceptional reporting by the first class of students at the CNN Academy based in the

UAE young Emirati nationals and other residents from some 200 nationalities who lived there got the chance to learn from CNN's best.

They were thought the finer aspects of reporting a story and how to make it compelling for you to watch? Well, our very first class graduated early

this month and the Academy Journalist who gives us today's report got a different kind of lesson. Muhammad (ph) wanted advice on how to cope with

the mental effects of the Coronavirus pandemic? He found it from a man who's overcome tremendous hardship.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting to the top wasn't smooth sailing for --. A sporting accident at the age of 18 bound him to the wheelchair for the

remainder of his life. But that didn't stop him. The pandemic has affected my mental well being like many of us on the world. This is driving me to

meet - for the first way worse conditions seeking for him to learn. How was he able to face them and overcome?

[11:55:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Speaking to - gave me another perspective to life. Accepting reality with the right attitude may be the key to overcome any

challenge we face while having hope that tomorrow will always be better.

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KINKADE: Well, tomorrow's CNN Academy reporters' looks at the emotional aspects of the pandemic, this time for an overwhelmed mum, take a listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have my partner my two kids to look after. For me at that time, it was too much. I was just having breakouts all over my body.

And I never had that I was full of pimples. And it was due to stress. So I said to myself, if I have to live this life that's high performing at work

high performing at home I'd rather put myself also somewhere on the top.

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KINKADE: Well, now she's putting herself first and hitting the road and she's not the only mom getting rid of stress on a motorcycle. We'll have

that report tomorrow. Well, thanks so much for joining us, wherever you are. We'll see you again tomorrow. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Thanks for joining

us.

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END