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Jakarta –
The Covid-19 pandemic has paralyzed African metropolitan cities. In Johannesburg, the capital of South Africa, the military mobilized to oversee the implementation of the curfew. In the often crowded capital of Uganda, Kampala, markets and shops are closed. Public transportation in many places does not work except to transport and deliver goods.
Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC Africa, praised the government’s swift actions in anticipation of an outbreak. “This is a lesson we learned during the 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa,” he said.
“We are quick to intervene, with the means, the knowledge and the reliable social partners in the eyes of the community.”
So far, Ahmed Ogwell Ouma said, the reported infection rates are still low. But experts worry that the situation may change quickly. In many places, health facilities and facilities are far from adequate.
Africa is not a “helpless victim”
The World Health Organization of the WHO warns that Covid-19 could affect Africa with a worse impact than other regions of the world. But Africa is not “a helpless pandemic victim,” said Robert Kappel, an African expert at the University of Leipzig, Germany.
“Africa also has experience that can be learned (the world). The African continent is not just a continent of pandemics, health crises and economic crises, as many people perceive,” Robert Kappel told DW. “Africa has to handle many things with its own hands and in very different ways.”
According to Gavin Churchyard, director of the Aurum Institute health care institute in South Africa, the concept of keeping a safe distance and controlling infection is not new to most Africans, who have a long history of fighting tuberculosis (TB) and lung disease. With some modifications, existing TB educational material, for example, can be used in the fight against COVID-19.
“Unlike some countries in other regions, African countries choose scientific solutions,” he said.
Robert Kappel also praised the local commitment of innovative small and medium-sized companies. They have become important players in the production of medical devices, such as masks or disinfectants.
“You can learn a lot here, there is a lot of local knowledge available in African countries,” he said. Many companies play an important role in supplying medical equipment to residents.
Participation of local communities and village chiefs.
Experience with the Ebola outbreak and other infectious diseases shows that the problem is not always a matter of the amount of international aid or the amount of funds spent, Robert Kappel said. But, in fact, it will be necessary if the number of infections increases rapidly and the crisis is out of control.
But in the initial phase, what was important to limit the spread of the virus was the participation of local communities, civil society organizations and village chiefs. Because the corona virus is slower to reach Africa than other continents, there is more time to prepare.
African intellectuals in two open letters to governments in the region recently called for Africa to provide “a strong and sustained response to a real threat (the corona virus), which should not be exaggerated or underestimated, but should be managed rationally “
Africa must emerge stronger after this crisis, they said. The health system must change, with locally processed raw materials and a more diverse economic structure. (hp / rzn)
(ita / ita)
