COVID-19 may compound difficulties in a part of the world that's long grappled with conflict, humanitarian disaster and infrastructure inadequacies. Yet Africa has deep experience fighting infectious disease and a very young population.
LAGOS, Nigeria – After President Donald Trump touted an anti-malaria drug called chloroquine as a possible treatment for coronavirus, thousands of Nigerians started taking the medicine, some of them overdosing in a rush to"prevent" infection.
Africa's plight has grabbed little attention amid mounting global medical emergency scenarios stretching from Asia to Latin America despite data released March 25 by the African Union suggesting the continent's infection trajectory over the first 50 days is similar to Europe's. There, the coronavirus has deeply taken hold in Italy and Spain and there are more than 17,000 deaths – almost six times as many as in China, where the outbreak began in December. The U.S.
"I have an elderly mother, who is on a pension, and three kids. I am the only one earning anything. I don’t even know if I qualify as being an 'essential worker,' because I do domestic work ... I’m scared I’ll be arrested if I try to go to work," she said. In Zimbabwe, there have only been three confirmed coronavirus cases, but already one death, that of a locally well-known TV personality who was infected in New York City. The World Bank estimates that more than a third of Zimbabweans live in extreme poverty; in the hardest-hit rural areas, half of all children face daily food shortages.
Tom Garofalo, the Libya country director for the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian organization, said that almost 20% of Libyan hospitals and primary health facilities are closed and that only 6% offer a full range of health services.In fact, the situation for many African countries mirrors circumstances for underdeveloped countries from Venezuela to Pakistan, were millions of vulnerable people live in massive slums with poor sanitation and no or rudimentary plumbing.
A few early scientific studies appear to indicate that warmer weather and higher humidity levels may help slow the disease, although the findings are far from conclusive and Australia, which is experiencing late summer in the Southern Hemisphere, has seen a sharp rise in infections. Africa's climate also varies from cool to cold winters.
Lukman had given her son chloroquine, the anti-malaria drug, after she heard President Trump say it had proved to be effective in fighting the coronavirus. A few minutes after taking the medicine, her son fell unconscious before a medic was able to revive him.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Corona Capital: Soccer cuts, S. Africa, China carsConcise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: European soccer stars suffer a salary relegation, South Africa’s finance minister talks straight about a credit downgrade, and Chinese carmakers rev up their sales pitches.
Read more »
Coronavirus Response In Middle East, Africa, Latin AmericaCountries all over the world are being impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. We hear how nations in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are responding.
Read more »
Forty seven-nation Africa has 2,650 confirmed coronavirus cases, 49 deaths - WHO chief TedrosCoronavirus has now spread to dozens of the 47 countries of the WHO Africa region, with 2,650 infected and 49 dead, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday.
Read more »
Africa is changing so rapidly, it is becoming hard to ignoreAlthough many of the continent’s problems persist, social, economic and political improvements since the end of the cold war are gathering pace
Read more »
Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Soccer cuts, S. Africa, China cars(Reuters Breakingviews) - Breakingviews has launched a daily column covering pandemic-related insights that you might have missed. Throughout the day, we’ll bring you shorter-than-usual views from columnists around the world with the same financial savvy on companies, economies and capital markets during this important unfolding story.
Read more »