South Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was one of ‘intervene first and ask questions later’. Now is the time for government to state clearly what its strategic endgame is.
Community members wearing protective face masks as they queue for aid in Zandspruit informal settlement, north of Johannesburg.
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Wearing masks is being introduced in conjunction with maintaining a physical distance of at least 1.5 metres and following hygiene measures such as hand washing.
Grafitti artists from Mathare Roots Youth Organisation pose in front of their latest mural advocating safety practices to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Nairobi/Kenya.
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There is an urgent need for greater awareness of the dangerous substances found in the environment.
A health worker collecting sample test kits from a nurse during a community COVID-19 testing campaign in Lagos.
Photo by Olukayode Jaiyeola/NurPhoto via Getty Images
As Nigeria battles COVID-19, systemic corruption and a low level of accountability in the health sector may undermine efforts to halt the devastating effect of the virus.
Lockdowns to curb the coronavirus have shut down Africa’s dominant informal economy, destroying livelihoods.
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Katherine E. Gallagher, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; Anthony Scott, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; Ifedayo Adetifa, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme; John Ojal, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; Shirine Voller, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme e Wangeci Kagucia, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme
Coronavirus is a stark reminder of what a world without vaccines would look like.
Framing the fight against coronavirus as a spiritual war may stem from a shared sense of discomfort about an adversary without discernible conscience; an impersonal demon.
Job seekers wait on the side of a road in South Africa. Joblessness stands at a record high.
Mujahid Safodien/AFP via Getty Images
Economic distress was the norm for many before the coronavirus outbreak. The pandemic is an opportunity to provide an economically secure future for all.
The recognition that COVID-19 is accompanied by an equally alarming “infodemic” has added a level of complexity to the situation. What are the consequences of this avalanche of information?
Biological control uses live organisms to kill or eat the pest insects.
Health workers fill out documents before performing tests for COVID-19 at the screening and testing tents set up at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg.
Photo by Michele Spatari / AFP via Getty Images
There are lessons for the health sector - the need for more coherent integration is undeniable.
A member of the Nigerian Health Task Force fumigates a building in Abuja, Nigeria, as the city struggles to curb the spread of coronavirus.
COVID-19 Photo by Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images
To contain COVID-19, African countries cannot rely just on doctors and nurses, who are already in short supply and at high risk of infection in the workplace.
A member of the South African National Defence Force hands out pamphlets informing township residents about COVID-19 in Johannesburg.
Kim Ludbrook/EPA-EFE
Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand
Principal Medical Scientist and Head of Laboratory for Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring and Malaria Operational Research, National Institute for Communicable Diseases
Professor and Programme Director, SA MRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS SA (Priority Cost Effective Lessons in Systems Strengthening South Africa), University of the Witwatersrand