In just three months, COVID-19 has upended life in Africa. Around 70,000 people have been infected and over 2,000 have died.
Statistically, the African continent has been spared from the high concentration of cases seen elsewhere. Politically, in a world where there is a deficit on global leadership, we have seen the African Union step up to ensure a coordinated response across the continent, particularly in supporting countries with weak health systems and pushing for debt restructuring.
However, the reality remains...
ONE
The immediate health needs of COVID-19 are immense — but that doesn’t mean other health, economic, and societal needs are standing still.
“There’s a tendency to look at the pandemic in a linear way,” explains ONE CEO Gayle Smith. But by doing that, we miss the fact that it is layered and has a cascading impact on the economy, food security, and the risk of other diseases.
We gathered three experts to discuss the issues we can’t forget during this pandemic....
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed every corner of the world. Everyone has been pushed to action, in protecting themselves and their community, whether it is by wearing masks themselves or by social distancing. The global and community outreach during this pandemic have been crucial in keeping everyone safe and reminding us that we’re all in this together.
At ONE, our activists and champions are exemplifying the leadership and service we need to tackle this global pandemic.
Carine Umutoniwase is a youth...
The costs of the COVID-19 pandemic are going to be monumental. Africa alone is estimated to need US$100-$200 billion to address the impact. In higher income countries, governments have stepped forward with trillions in economic stimulus packages. But the majority of developing countries do not have the money to cover the costs of this pandemic.
Debt relief is one of the fastest, most effective means of freeing up cash in developing country budgets. The recent G20 agreement to suspend debt...
Developing a vaccine is key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are currently almost 100 COVID vaccine candidates under development.
During a recent press briefing, Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, explained that “in an extraordinary time like this is the world coming to fully appreciate the need for vaccines … people understand more why it’s so important.”
“If we want to end this pandemic, minimise the loss of life, and return to some semblance of normality …...
Mrs. Amira Elfadil Mohammed Elfadil is the African Union commissioner for social affairs.
With COVID-19 transcending borders and spreading at an alarming rate, this pandemic serves as a valuable reminder that we are one world, one humanity. In Africa, COVID19 has placed health, health systems, primary healthcare, and universal healthcare access squarely on the agenda of health and non-health actors at the highest policy levels of the continent. The pandemic has overwhelmed advanced health facilities, and experts predict it could...
Bryan Ceronie is a medical doctor in the UK.
We are living in unprecedented times. The COVID-19 pandemic has stretched across the world in a matter of months, affecting virtually everyone.
But just because we’re in a pandemic does not mean the risk of other diseases goes away. In fact, there is a real risk of routine immunisations being sidelined in favour of resource reallocation for the pandemic.
Vaccinations are one of the single most important public health interventions in protecting the...
The world has recently been plunged in the deep end of this temporary but indeterminate new way of life. The pandemic has forced adjustments not only at institutional levels but in our personal day-to-day lives. Although a sense of an undetermined future has made the world feel unsettled, we cannot lose hope in fighting the virus.
It is also important to acknowledge and appreciate those taking the big bold steps in ensuring, individually or as a community, that humanity doesn’t...
A video was recently circulated showing people in overcrowded slums in Lagos, Nigeria resisting lockdown. In the video, people expressed their dissatisfaction with the lockdown, citing their inability to meet their food and energy needs as a major concern.
In Kenya, commuters at a ferry received a bout of tear gas as the police tried to disperse a crowd of ferry commuters in Mombasa trying to escape the impending curfew the next day. We should expect to see more of...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people all over the world are increasingly standing in solidarity with each other to beat the virus. But as we live through this, the cold hard fact about the COVID-19 pandemic is clear – it will inevitably wreak its worst on the people, communities, and countries that are least able to withstand the shock. Where you live shouldn’t determine whether you live.
If the virus is moving faster than we are, it’s winning. But, the good...