Africa Needs to Act Now to ‘Avoid Disaster’ states Nobel Peace Prize Winner

To date, less than 100 deaths in Africa have been attributed to Coronavirus, according to the African CDC, yet of the 54 countries on the continent, cases have already been reported in 43, with South Africa the worst hit, at 400 cases, followed by Algeria, Morocco and Senegal with 230, 143 and 79 cases respectively as of last Saturday. These countries are among the best equipped to test for the virus, so the true number of infected on the continent is anyone’s guess.

Worst is yet to come      

In a video published last week, Dr Dénis Mukwege decried the lack of testing centers in the continent and the level of resources allocated to fighting the spread of the disease. The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner believes that the best way to slow the spread of the Covid-19 is to take preventative action.

‘‘Africans all have to adapt our way of life in the face of this threat. We need to avoid leaving our homes unless strictly necessary and practice social distancing when we do. We should be prepared for the worst, because we have no idea of knowing how bad Coronaviris will be in Africa.’’

Meanwhile, the secretary général of aviation association AFRAA, Abderrahmane Berthé, has said that 95% of of the entire African commercial aviation fleet has been grounded in the wake of Covid-19, with only cargo flights still operating. A number of African countries have effectively closed their borders in an attempt to curtail the virus, which has seen many airports shut.

Should confinement measures be repeated throughout the continent, this will pose a major difficulty in a part of the world where most live below the poverty line and where the many engage in informal economic activity which requires physical contact with others.  

The Democratic Republic of Congo has begun to take steps to confront the coronavirus threat. Since the 19th of March Knshasa, the center of the disease in the country, has been sealed off.

In Nigeria, the number of Covid-19 cases are expected to mushroom in the coming weeks. The country of 190 million people has, to date, only recorded 51 cases and one death, but the level of testing is still limited. The country has enacted a host of measures to combat the disease.

Private sector gets involved

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has partnered with Nigeria’s Access Bank to set up four Covid-19 treatment centers with a total capacity of 100 beds. They should be fully operational by the middle of April. In addition, the billionaire, who has previously made significant donations to combat ebola outbreaks, pledged the equivalent of 550,000 dollars to the medical effort in Nigeria.  

Edited by Aude Ghespière