Africa and the COVID-19 enigma.
There is no shortage around the discussion as to why the caseload of COVID-19 in Africa low, despite this being a flawed discourse. Nonetheless, an important question to discuss, providing equally important answers if the global health community is to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Explanations have ranged from effective screening, travel restrictions, climate, inappropriate testing, lack of reporting, weak travel connections, the virus failing to establish infections. Including a very intriguing hypothesis that exposure to tropical diseases (present in Africa) plays a role by masking COVID-19 cases and/or cross-immunity. All these reasons are plausible and need to be studied in detail.
To this list, I would like to add three additional reasons. Reasons that, in my opinion, have not been given the coverage they deserve. Using the USA and Kenya (countries close to me since they are both homes for me) as case studies:
(1) Leadership matters — of these two countries; one leader does not believe in science (we just have to look at the global warming debate) and is hell-bent on mitigating the political damage of the pandemic and pedaling miss information. While the second leader is indicating that this is a public health emergency where the leading concern is the risk to human life. For purposes of demonstration, below are samplings of word choice and messaging
President Donald Trump
“We’re talking about a much smaller range of deaths than from the flu.”
Words by President Trump — while the outbreak is accelerating across the USA, health officials are scrambling to handle the affected, scientists warning a vaccine for mass use is at the minimum a year away, and statistics pointing to at least 3,244 confirmed cases and 61 coronavirus-related deaths across 49 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. A trend showing how the outbreak is accelerating within the USA.
President Uhuru Kenyatta
Words by President Kenyatta — while trading activity at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the benchmark index plunged by more than 5 percent, three confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Nairobi and an unfolding outbreak.
(2) Neoliberal policies have consequences — the USA with neoliberal capitalism fixated on privatization has a leader slashing cuts for public health, research, and global health, weakening health systems. If we need further evidence that neoliberal policies cause health crisis let's think back to Greece (in early 2000). Kenya, unfortunately, was also forced to adopt free-market models of economic austerity under the West-driven agenda of structural adjustment programs. Ironically, however, with a large burden of infectious diseases, crippling debt, and systemic problems, Kenya had to quickly learn that a horizontal approach to healthcare (prevention of diseases and wellbeing of a community at large) works. Reflected in a devolved health system and a health strategy that broadens the scope of the health system to cover interconnected variables.
(3) Africa as a whole learned from the 2014 Ebola outbreak — one of the most important lessons early response is critical, as is the involvement of religious leaders. Experiences matter.
Words matter, and policies matter; Perhaps the west can learn from Africa.
This article first appeared on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-so-few-cases-covid-19-africa-words-policies-alam-mph-ph-d/
