Words by Funmi Oduniyi
For a continent often thought of as particularly susceptible to health threats, Africa responded to the coronavirus outbreak better than most of the Western world – here’s how.
When it comes to health and diseases, Africa has for a long time been unfairly depicted as a place susceptible to, and still ridden with, poor healthcare systems. This was no more evident than in the 2019 Global Health Security Index, which ranked countries according to their preparedness for pandemics. The United States was identified as the most prepared country, while most African countries were deemed to be the least capable of dealing with any new health threat. Further entrenching this perspective of Africa’s lack of preparedness, Africa as a continent was predicted to have 10 million COVID-19-related deaths. So, when Covid-19 emerged, it was the common consensus that Africa was likely to be the worst affected by the virus.
However, while prosperous nations like America and the UK continue to struggle with the disease, Africa has quietly been coping relatively well, accounting for only 4% of the total global deaths despite being home to a large proportion of the world’s population. But for those who have been following the issue of coronavirus in Africa, this comes as no surprise. So why has Africa been coping so well with the virus, relative to the West?
Quick and decisive action
While many countries in the Western world failed to implement the known evidence-based interventions immediately, most African countries quickly took this matter seriously to protect their populations. Lockdowns and border closings were implemented very early after the first few cases were reported, to support the strategy of prevention. As early as March 15, various African countries closed their borders, cancelled flights, and imposed strict lockdown measures to prevent the influx of cases. In the case of Lesotho, they even locked down before a single case was registered. On a larger scale, South Africa implemented one of the strictest lockdowns worldwide on March 27, which contributed to the decrease of the rate of infections from 42 to 4%. We can also take the example of Rwanda, which implemented a lockdown on March 20 — only 6 days after the first case was detected — and banned all nonessential travel within the country. The ability to clamp down on the virus in its infancy has meant that it has not been allowed to run rampant on the continent in the same way as it has in many Western countries, particularly the UK.
Protecting economically vulnerable populations
We have seen in the West that adherence to regulations was limited due to the economic pressures of lockdown on the economically vulnerable. However, African countries were discernible in understanding the importance of economic support to ensure adherence to lockdown rules. In Rwanda, for example, where the informal sector accounts for 64% of economic output, the lockdown resulted in the disruption of economic activity and hindered people from earning income to support their families. Thus the government ensured that testing, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine services, as well as treatment, were all provided for free. We can also see similar examples in other African countries. For instance, the Federal Housing Corporation in Ethiopia announced a 50% reduction in housing rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some countries provided water and electricity for free to vulnerable citizens and granted tax holidays. Such measures of support to the vulnerable are key to ensuring that those who cannot afford to adhere to prevention measures on their own have the ability to do so.
Population demographic
Another crucial factor behind Africa’s strong response is the relatively young age demographic on the continent. Covid-19 impacts the immune system, and thus is more susceptive and fatal to elderly people. This has been reflected in the age demographic of deaths globally, where most of those who have died have been aged over 80. As Africa is home to the world’s youngest population with a median age of 19 years, the level of fatality has been drastically less than the rest of the world. This has been recognised by WHO, who said, “The pandemic has largely been in younger age groups… about 91% of Covid-19 infection in sub-Saharan Africa are among people below 60 years and over 80% are asymptomatic.”
Issue of vaccines
While Africa as a continent has done well to deal with the outbreak, the virus won’t be fully overcome without a vaccine. But the issue of vaccine capacity is where Africa may, unfortunately, fall short. As the roll-out of the vaccine came on a first come first serve basis, Africa was unfortunately at the back of the queue when it came to access, and thus will be disproportionately impacted economically as it takes longer for their economies to open and thus recover. With cases in Africa starting to spike again due to the emergence of the new South Africa variant, the ability to secure vaccines as quick as possible will be key in continuing to keep the virus under control. However, it is also in the world’s interest for Africa to have access to the vaccine, since a true, global recovery will not happen unless everywhere has been vaccinated to prevent the re-emergence of the virus.
This article was originally published by FO’s Perspectives.
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