The African continent is extremely susceptible to a large-scale coronavirus outbreak, but not just within the way you would possibly think.
Nearly every country in Africa has recorded a minimum of one case of Covid-19, leading over 30 nations on the continent to impose lockdowns to slow the spread. As of April 20, Sub-Saharan Africa has quite 20,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and quite 1,000 confirmed deaths.
The lower numbers than others could mean African nations acted early to prevent a wider outbreak, but also that there are only a few tests on the continent and a young population won't suffer as visibly as places like Europe. In other words, there could also be a bigger outbreak that just hasn’t been officially identified yet.
Either way, experts warn those low numbers are unlikely to last. Millions in Africa buy the food they eat the day they eat it. Storing large amounts of sustenance just isn’t a viable option, which suggests the daily trip to the market is significant for several. Governments asking people to socially distance, then, likely won’t add the end of the day.
A massive coronavirus crisis would “become quickly an equal food security crisis,” Sean Granville-Ross, a Kenya-based economic and agricultural expert at the humanitarian organization Mercy Corps, said. “We know many people in Africa live just on or simply above the poverty level. With the slightest shock or crisis, it knocks them below the poverty level .”
That will only exacerbate the known challenges Africa has. Many countries’ health care systems are ill-equipped to treat patients without support from international organizations. Many governments don’t have enough resources to inform citizens what precautions they ought to fancy debar the virus, like washing their hands for 20 seconds or keeping 6 feet apart. And millions on the continent, mainly within the east and south, already suffer from other complications like HIV/AIDS that would make them more susceptible to a Covid-19 infection.
These and other concerns led the planet Health Organization (WHO) to estimate the continent could see 10 million cases of coronavirus within the subsequent six months.
And a report last week from Imperial College London predicted that some 300,000 people on the continent might die from the disease. A separate report from the UN Economic Commission for Africa said that within the worst-case scenario with no interventions against the disease, quite 1 billion might get infected and 3 million could die.
That’s tons of bad news, but there are some reasons for optimism: Africa is a particularly young continent. quite 98 percent of the population is under the age of 65. that would bring a lower price than in places like Europe where the population skews older.
Many African nations even have experience handling major disease outbreaks, especially the 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa. And international organizations are working to supply assistance and training.
Still, the continent’s larger problems like widespread poverty, poor governance, and major debt burdens mean the coronavirus crisis will likely deepen Africa’s woes for the foreseeable future.
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