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Struggles of Sub-Saharan Africa

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Sub-Saharan Africa is home to about 46 African countries that lie south of the Sahara Desert. With a population of over 1 billion people, COVID-19 pandemic has affected over 54,000 people. The pandemic has led to about 2,080 deaths and 18, 412 recoveries across the entire continent as of 8th May 2020. Although these numbers contribute to a small portion of the global total, global bodies such as the United Nations and its agencies- World Health Organisation (WHO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) – have expressed concerns on the impact of the pandemic on the growth and development in the area.

With pre-existing developmental challenges in the region, the COVID-19 pandemic would pose consequences of biblical proportions in the area. According to the World Health Organisation (WH0), deaths from malaria could double up as compared to the figures in the last 20 years. The focus of stakeholders in the health sector have unsurprisingly shifted to the raging COVID-19 pandemic, and this presents grave concerns to the effective implementation of other health programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. For instance, almost all healthcare systems across countries in the area have been stretched beyond capacity due to the pandemic, and inadequate makeshift structures are being put in place to accommodate the increasing number of affected persons. These are trying times, but countries across the continent should implement strategies that will ensure that achievements in various healthcare sectors are not lost in the whirlwind of the pandemic. According to the UN, African policymakers should channel resources towards strengthening health systems and implementing social protection programmes to cushion the consequences of the pandemic on the vulnerable population across sub-Saharan Africa.

From an economic standpoint, the United Nations warns that the COVID-19 pandemic is driving sub-Saharan Africa towards its first recession in 25 years. While governments across the region have initiated various strategies to curb the impact on economic activities, the pandemic has increased job losses and also worsened livelihoods of thousands of farmers. According to McKinsey, about 60 per cent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa are small-scale farmers. The UN projects that the pandemic is a potential risk to the food crisis in the region. Farming patterns have already been affected in the region as about 237 million people face food crisis out of 257 million hungry people in the entire African continent. These figures are anticipated to worsen considering the drastic decrease in agricultural production.

Several African countries have moved in through policy actions to mitigate the spread and cushion the consequences of the pandemic on existing realities of sub-Saharan African societies. These measures, in no small extent, have not addressed the issues engendered or worsened by the pandemic. For example, across sub-Saharan cities, people are brazenly flouting movement restriction orders. In other areas where movements have been relaxed, strict adherence to social distancing and other guidelines stipulated by the World Health Organisation has been poor. At this point, the budding question will be, how can sub-Saharan African countries ensure strict compliance to these guidelines? An efficient communication strategy to educate people on why adhering to health guidelines in adapting to the new normal triggered by COVID-19 pandemic is essential. Stakeholders charged with enforcing these directives should approach the issue from a teaching perspective to educate people on best practices. Health safety has become an individual effort for the collective gain of all.

The impact of a continuous spread of COVID-19 will most likely shake the sub-Saharan Africa that is already dotted with numerous violent conflicts and their attendant challenges on the wellbeing of the region. For sub-Saharan Africa to survive COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the continent should commit to a comprehensive COVID-19 action plan that captures the inherent realities in their respective countries and available resources. Equally the recommendations by the United Nations and other relevant bodies should be put into consideration while mapping out COVID-19 response strategy.