COVID-19 pandemic in Africa

COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationAfrica
First outbreakWuhan, Hubei, China
Arrival date14 February 2020
(4 years, 9 months and 1 week ago)
Confirmed cases11,984,539 (as of 10 May)[1]
Active cases562,295 (as of 10 May)[1]
Recovered11,168,212 (as of 10 May)[1]
Deaths
254,032 (as of 10 May)[1]
Territories
58[1]
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COVID-19 pandemic
Scientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of SARS-CoV-2. Each "ball" is an atom.
Scientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of SARS-CoV-2. Each "ball" is an atom.
Timeline
2019
2020
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2022
2023
Locations
By country and territory
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International response
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Medical response
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Impacts
Long COVID
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The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Africa on 14 February 2020, with the first confirmed case announced in Egypt.[2][3] The first confirmed case in sub-Saharan Africa was announced in Nigeria at the end of February 2020.[4] Within three months, the virus had spread throughout the continent, as Lesotho, the last African sovereign state to have remained free of the virus, reported a case on 13 May 2020.[5][6] By 26 May, it appeared that most African countries were experiencing community transmission, although testing capacity was limited.[7] Most of the identified imported cases arrived from Europe and the United States rather than from China where the virus originated.[8]

In early June 2021, Africa faced a third wave of COVID infections with cases rising in 14 countries.[9] By 4 July the continent recorded more than 251,000 new Covid cases, a 20% increase from the prior week and a 12% increase from the January peak. More than sixteen African countries, including Malawi and Senegal, recorded an uptick in new cases.[10] The World Health Organization labelled it Africa's 'Worst Pandemic Week Ever'.[11]

Many preventive measures have been implemented by different countries in Africa. These include travel restrictions, flight cancellations, event cancellations,[12] school closures, and border closures.[13] It is believed that there is widespread under-reporting in many African countries with less developed healthcare systems.[14] According to the autumn 2020 seroprevalence study in Juba in South Sudan, less than 1% of infected were actually reported.[15] Similar results were found in 2022 by WHO modelers.[16]

New variants of concern of the virus were found in Africa: in February 2020 the Beta variant in South Africa,[17] in December 2020 the Eta variant in Nigeria,[18][19] and in November 2021 the Omicron variant in Botswana.[20]

The African Union secured close to 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in the largest such agreement yet for Africa; it was announced on 13 January 2021. This is independent of the global Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (COVAX) effort aimed at distributing COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income countries.[21] Notably, however, African countries were being charged more than double what European countries had to pay for certain vaccines.[22] The Group of Seven (G-7) promised an equitable distribution of vaccines on 19 February 2021, although few details were provided.[23] The United Arab Emirates has also stepped forward as a vaccine provider for the continent.[24][25]

Despite these breakthroughs, Africa is the world's least vaccinated continent.[26] At the beginning of June 2021 the World Health Organization reported that COVID-19 vaccine shipments had ground to a "near halt" in Africa.[27] On 8 June, the Sudanese-British billionaire philanthropist Mo Ibrahim sharply criticized the international community for failing to ensure equitable vaccine distribution across the globe.[28] By 8 July 2021, only 2% of the continent had been inoculated.[10]

Several African governments are experiencing criticism for a perceived lack of readiness, corruption scandals, and forcing new lockdowns too late, undermining trust in the state. Currently, twenty of the 39 nations on the World Bank's harmonised list of fragile and conflict-affected states are in Africa.[29][30]

To support the COVID-19 recovery, Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole would need to raise expenditure by around 6% of GDP ($100 billion), whereas MENA would need to boost spending by 9% of GDP.[31][32]

  1. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference coronacount was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Beijing orders 14-day quarantine for all returnees". BBC News. 15 February 2020. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Egypt announces first Coronavirus infection". Egypt Today. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Nigeria confirms first coronavirus case". BBC News. 28 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Remote Lesotho becomes last country in Africa to record COVID-19 case". Reuters. 13 May 2020. Archived from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Coronavirus live updates: Lesotho becomes last African nation to report a coronavirus case". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  7. ^ Akinwotu E (26 May 2020). "Experts sound alarm over lack of Covid-19 test kits in Africa". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  8. ^ Maclean R (17 March 2020). "Africa Braces for Coronavirus, but Slowly". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Third wave sweeps across Africa as Covid vaccine imports dry up". The Guardian. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  10. ^ a b Mendez R (8 July 2021). "Africa suffers worst surge in Covid cases as delta variant spurs third wave of pandemic". CNBC. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  11. ^ Dahir AL (8 July 2021). "Africa marks its 'worst pandemic week' yet, with cases surging and vaccine scarce, the W.H.O. says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Here are the African countries with confirmed coronavirus cases". CNN. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  13. ^ "UN Sees Africa Sliding Into Recession Without Debt-Service Help". Bloomberg.com. 24 March 2020. Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  14. ^ Burke J, Mumin AA (2 May 2020). "Somali medics report rapid rise in deaths as Covid-19 fears grow". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  15. ^ Wiens KE, Mawien PN, Rumunu J, Slater D, Jones FK, Moheed S, et al. (June 2021). "Seroprevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 IgG in Juba, South Sudan, 20201". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 27 (6): 1598–1606. doi:10.3201/eid2706.210568. PMC 8153877. PMID 34013872.
  16. ^ Cabore JW, Karamagi HC, Kipruto HK, Mungatu JK, Asamani JA, Droti B, Titi-ofei R, Seydi AB, Kidane SN, Balde T, Gueye AS, Makubalo L, Moeti MR (1 June 2022). "COVID-19 in the 47 countries of the WHO African region: a modelling analysis of past trends and future patterns". The Lancet Global Health. 10 (8): e1099–e1114. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(22)00233-9. PMC 9159735. PMID 35659911. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  17. ^ Latif AA, Mullen JL, Alkuzweny M, Tsueng G, Cano M, Haag E, et al. "B.1.351 Lineage Report". outbreak.info. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Lineage B.1.525". cov-lineages.org. Pango team. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Another new COVID strain found in Nigeria, says Africa CDC". Al Jazeera. 24 December 2020. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  20. ^ "Lineage B.1.1.529". Archived from the original on 26 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Africa secures 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in deal with manufacturers". Africanews. 13 January 2021. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  22. ^ "'Deeply Alarming': AstraZeneca Charging South Africa More Than Double What Europeans Pay for Covid-19 Vaccine". Common Dreams. 22 January 2021. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  23. ^ Lawless J (19 February 2021). "G-7 vows 'equitable' world vaccine access, but details scant". AP News. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Vaccine Diplomacy: COVID and the Return of Soft Power". The Globalist. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Covid-19 Africa: What is happening with vaccines?". BBC News. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  26. ^ "Rapidly Spreading Variants Compound Africa's Coronavirus Woes". Bloomberg L.P. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  27. ^ "Alarm in Africa: Virus surges, vaccines grind to 'near halt'". AP NEWS. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  28. ^ "Billionaire philanthropist: vaccine hoarding hurts Africa". AP NEWS. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  29. ^ "Africa: Covid-19 Aid Falling Short". Human Rights Watch. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  30. ^ Bank EI (18 November 2021). Finance in Africa: for green, smart and inclusive private sector development. European Investment Bank. ISBN 978-92-861-5063-0.
  31. ^ "Sub-Saharan Africa: One Planet, Two Worlds, Three Stories". IMF. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  32. ^ "Sub-Saharan Africa: Navigating a Long Pandemic". IMF. Retrieved 6 December 2021.