Response to the Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) Pandemic Across Africa: Successes, Challenges, and Implications for the Future

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has already claimed considerable lives. There are major concerns in Africa due to existing high prevalence rates for both infectious and non-infectious diseases and limited resources in terms of personnel, beds and equipment. Alongside this, concerns that lockdown and other measures will have on prevention and management of other infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). NCDs are an increasing issue with rising morbidity and mortality rates. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that a lack of nets and treatment could result in up to 18 million additional cases of malaria and up to 30,000 additional deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Objective: Document current prevalence and mortality rates from COVID-19 alongside economic and other measures to reduce its spread and impact across Africa. In addition, suggested ways forward among all key stakeholder groups. Our Approach: Contextualise the findings from a wide range of publications including internet-based publications coupled with input from senior-level personnel. Ongoing Activities: Prevalence and mortality rates are currently lower in Africa than among several Western countries and the USA. This could be due to a number of factors including early instigation of lockdown and border closures, the younger age of the population, lack of robust reporting systems and as yet unidentified genetic and other factors. Innovation is accelerating to address concerns with available equipment. There are ongoing steps to address the level of misinformation and its consequences including fines. There are also ongoing initiatives across Africa to start addressing the unintended consequences of COVID-19 activities including lockdown measures and their impact on NCDs including the likely rise in mental health disorders, exacerbated by increasing stigma associated with COVID-19. Strategies include extending prescription lengths, telemedicine and encouraging vaccination. However, these need to be accelerated to prevent increased morbidity and mortality. Conclusion: There are multiple activities across Africa to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and address misinformation, which can have catastrophic consequences, assisted by the WHO and others, which appear to be working in a number of countries. Research is ongoing to clarify the unintended consequences given ongoing concerns to guide future activities. Countries are learning from each other

Poverty, resource endowment and conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa a reexamination of the resource curse hypothesis

Contrary to the logical conclusion that the more natural resources a country has or controls, the more prosperous, rich and happy will be its people, the evidence from many Sub-Saharan countries is pointing to a different direction with numerous conflicts occurring mostly near mineral deposits or in countries heavily endowed with natural resources of various sorts. This paper seeks to tackle the basic questions of a sub-Saharan African and any person interested in the region; why are there so many conflicts in the region? Why is there absolute poverty despite the presence of enormous natural resources? What are the factors contributing to the present problems facing the region? This paper establishes the relationship between poverty, resource endowments and conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa. The paper reviews literature, stressing on the different conditions under which resource abundance can and have been a primary cause of conflicts. It argues that poverty and conflicts have re-enforced each other and that natural resources have played a role. The paper also makes use of conflict, resource and poverty data among other variables to establish the probable cause for the numerous conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper suggests statistically that Political Stability and Absence of violent conflicts can only be altered by the lack of sustainable economic opportunity, failure to control corruption and rising levels of poverty. It is worth noting that the resource variables are not statistically significant. This however, do not dismiss the role of natural resources in the present conflicts of the region because the trend is observable that most conflict ridden countries in the Sub-Saharan African region are resource rich. It rather lays an emphasis on the fact that resource revenues could be used to avert the current situation by provision of basic needs like shelter, potable water, security, accountable institutions, education and the promotion of enterprise that will be a guarantor of sustainable economic opportunities. The paper employs Maslow's Human needs theory for some explanations and also multiple regression, using panel data for statistical analysis. Fixed and random effects estimation techniques are used, and other statistical testing to determine the validity of the different variable coefficients generated. The paper suggests concrete economic and policy recommendations to the problems enumerated that could leapfrog the region out of the current bad situation it has been in for decades

Response to the novel corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic across Africa : successes, challenges, and implication for the future

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has already claimed considerable lives. There are major concerns in Africa due to existing high prevalence rates for both infectious and non-infectious diseases and limited resources in terms of personnel, beds and equipment. Alongside this, concerns that lockdown and other measures will have on prevention and management of other infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). NCDs are an increasing issue with rising morbidity and mortality rates. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that a lack of nets and treatment could result in up to 18 million additional cases of malaria and up to 30,000 additional deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. OBJECTIVE: Document current prevalence and mortality rates from COVID-19 alongside economic and other measures to reduce its spread and impact across Africa. In addition, suggested ways forward among all key stakeholder groups. OUR APPROACH: Contextualise the findings from a wide range of publications including internet-based publications coupled with input from senior-level personnel. ONGOING ACTIVITIES: Prevalence and mortality rates are currently lower in Africa than among several Western countries and the USA. This could be due to a number of factors including early instigation of lockdown and border closures, the younger age of the population, lack of robust reporting systems and as yet unidentified genetic and other factors. Innovation is accelerating to address concerns with available equipment. There are ongoing steps to address the level of misinformation and its consequences including fines. There are also ongoing initiatives across Africa to start addressing the unintended consequences of COVID-19 activities including lockdown measures and their impact on NCDs including the likely rise in mental health disorders, exacerbated by increasing stigma associated with COVID-19. Strategies include extending prescription lengths, telemedicine and encouraging vaccination. However, these need to be accelerated to prevent increased morbidity and mortality. CONCLUSION: There are multiple activities across Africa to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and address misinformation, which can have catastrophic consequences, assisted by the WHO and others, which appear to be working in a number of countries. Research is ongoing to clarify the unintended consequences given ongoing concerns to guide future activities. Countries are learning from each other.http://frontiersin.org/Pharmacologypm2021Family MedicineSchool of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH