On Tuesday, IACD Director Dr Daniel Muia hosted a Zoom call for all IACD Country Correspondents in Sub-Sahara Africa. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how each Correspondent’s country and community are handling the Covid-19 crisis. Daniel met up with Correspondents from Ghana, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Kenya, and an excerpt from their conversations has been provided in summary below.
Status of Community Development under Covid-19
Ghana
Dr Michael Nyarko is our Country Correspondent in Ghana and he is a traditional medicine practitioner. He notes that the government has put in stringent measures to control Covid-19. The numbers are still low and recovery rates are fairly high, and a lot of research is going on including by traditional medical practitioners to find a cure.
South Africa
Taraneh Afnan-Holmes and Janine Ward were present to represent South Africa. South Africa is currently on lockdown, with Taraneh noting how frustrated people are with the situation. Janine furthered responded that the Covid-19 situation is especially challenging in poor neighbourhoods as there are food riots due to challenges in lost sources of livelihood.
Ethiopia
Wondwosen Seifu reports that the Covid-19 situation in Ethiopia is not as severe as other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, although state of emergency has been declared and there is a lockdown. He notes that there are currently 124 cases, 50 recoveries, and 3 deaths at the time of the conversation. Most cases were imported from outside the country, and now those travelling into the country are subject to 15 days quarantine. Ethiopia is also undertaking mass temperature testing.
Kenya
Dr Daniel Muia, Stellah Masese, and Wanja Kiongo were all at the meeting representing Kenya. Stellah reported that Kenya currently has 363 cases, 114 recoveries, and 14 deaths. She notes that the situation in informal settlements is challenging as social distancing is not always possible and daily wage earners have to go out to look for jobs thus increasing vulnerability in informal settlements. Educational institutions are still closed and a night curfew is in place plus restricted movement into and out of five counties which have high number of infected cases.
What’s Next?
The Sub-Saharan Africa Country Correspondents will continue to meet on a monthly basis — and the next meeting will take place on 26th May 2020. Part of the agenda for this meeting will be to discuss holding a regional event on how to rebuild in the aftermath of Covid-19.
