Despite the warnings levied by public health officials after previous viral disease outbreaks such as Ebola and the H1N1 flu, the coronavirus still managed to wrong foot governments the world over, hastening the rapid, globe-encircling spread of Covid-19 The proliferation of infections led nations to pause the economic activity and industrial production, and put untold stress on global supply chains Critical goods, especially medical supplies, had to be rationed, even in the developed world Even vital medical treatments had to be suspended and rationed in many instances, to say nothing of those people who could not be diagnosed and treated for other illnesses while healthcare systems were overrun with Covid-19
The pandemic has laid bare African countries’ weaknesses in protecting their citizens Beyond healthcare, the Covid-19crisis has unmasked, too, the fragility of Africa’s security, infrastructure, and financial systems And while infection and mortality rates have been less pronounced in the region than in, for example, the US or Western Europe, the pandemic’s impact cannot be understated The consequences have been especially devastating in terms of public finance and welfare
Africa’s technology gap with the rest of the world is widening, and the region depends excessively on primary commodities and natural resources for fiscal revenues and foreign exchange earnings Both of these factors have been major drivers of persistent intergenerational poverty and recurrent balance of payments crises At the time of writing, vaccines are beginning slowly to be distributed in some parts of the world, and there is light, however dim, at the end of the tunnel But Covid-19 continues to rage in most places, and it is important to raise questions about what comes next and how African countries should plan for the post-pandemic era
Those questions must certainly include the following: – How long will it take African national economies to recover How long will it take for Africa’s public healthcare systems to convalesce What must be done to prepare African countries better for future pandemics – How do African countries use the lessons from this crisis as a platform for innovation and to stimulate dynamic, competitive economies
Resourceful, ingenious, local solutions
Despite the magnitude of the challenges posed by the pandemic, African researchers were able to respond and innovate effectively, developing local solutions to the technical trials and tribulations of monitoring and treating Covid-19 In the later stages of infection, symptoms often include severe respiratory distress, which frequently requires putting a patient on a ventilator At the height of the pandemic, there was a global shortage of ventilators, and it was unclear whether Africa was ever going to get access to sufficient supplies to treat patients in intensive care units There besides, it wasn’t always clear whether the ventilators available on the open market would suit African hospitals, which must often deal with inconsistent power supplies and a scarcity of trained personnel
Source: Business Times
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Source: Businesstimes
