London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Africa dodged the worst of Covid-19, but the aftermath will be devastating... and the rest of the world doesn’t seem to care

Africa dodged the worst of Covid-19, but the aftermath will be devastating... and the rest of the world doesn’t seem to care

Despite suffering relatively few Covid deaths, Africa is on the verge of disaster due to a perilous economic situation and other health crises. It’s time for the rest of the world to help out and show black lives really do matter.
As the severity of Covid-19 became clear earlier this year, experts warned it would devastate Africa. The world’s poorest continent was supposed to be the virus’s epicentre.

Melinda Gates and husband Bill poured billions into their foundation to finance vaccine trials. On CNN back in April, she said: “My first thought was Africa, how in the world are they going to deal with this? If you live in a slum, you can’t physical distance… you don’t have clean water to wash your hands. Look at Ecuador, they are putting bodies out on the street; you are going to see that in countries in Africa.”

That prediction was way off. At the time of writing, Liberia has suffered 82 deaths from a population of five million, while Senegal has over three times more citizens and just 302 deaths, and the Democratic Republic of Congo has 271 deaths across its 80 million people.

Rwanda, one of the most impoverished countries, has 27 fatalities. South Africa is the only nation to have seen a sizeable death tally (16,206). There’s a variety of factors which have played a part.

However, the more pressing issue is what the future holds for Africa’s health. Since dodging the Covid bullet, there have been grim forecasts.

In the world’s wealthiest nations, governments have bailed out businesses and insulated workers. That has allowed things to function in the midst of economic Armageddon. Across the world, large chains and well-known companies have gone to the wall, and without the shelter provided by central banks, the entire system could have collapsed. But this hasn’t happened in Africa.

Most governments don’t have the wealth to inject into their economies. Compounding that, their incomes have also fallen. Exports like oil, minerals, chemicals and foodstuffs have seen drops in demand or price, hurting the bottom line. Therefore, they can’t spend what they normally would on public services.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly this week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who also chairs the African Union, said: “The resources we have had to redirect to fighting the pandemic has set back our efforts to provide housing, health care, water sanitation and education to our people.”

This chimed with comments made by Germany’s Development Minister Gerd Müller, who said: “On the African continent alone, we expect an additional 400,000 deaths from malaria and HIV victims, as well as half a million more who will die of tuberculosis.”

Sudan and Zimbabwe are particularly hamstrung by US sanctions, preventing them from purchasing some medical supplies. They and other nations also aren’t receiving their normal level of aid, as Covid has torpedoed that. But their international debt interest payments are still due, and now swallowing up a greater share of their budget.

Enforcing lockdown and asking people to remain at home has resulted in a devastating cocktail. David Bell, a malaria specialist who has worked with the WHO, explained: “In developing nations, many people live day to day, so even short disruption can be devastating to lives, while there are already large epidemics of malaria, tuberculosis and HIV that will only get worse if you reduce access and healthcare for a few months.”

Uganda saw 92 maternal mortalities in January, but after lockdown, that rose to 167 in March. “The fear is more people will die from other conditions,” said Agnes Kiragga of the Infectious Diseases Institute. “This has been a learning curve. Governments in Africa must consider not just Covid, but other diseases that are more dangerous in a young population.”

In other parts of the world, employees have benefited from computers and remote connectivity. But 45 percent of sub-Saharan Africans work in sectors severely impacted by lockdown.

Desperate families have lost income and been forced to use savings to buy food or medicines. With their funds gone, they can no longer afford them, which impacts on health, particularly for those with underlying conditions.

Following the model of richer nations has hurt Africa.

It may have been better to adopt a plan more suited to its own characteristics.

Lynda Iroulo, a Nigerian research fellow at the Institute of Global and Area Studies, said: “African nations made the mistake of mimicking Western measures without considering local conditions. In Western nations, lockdowns were more feasible because the infrastructure is there and social welfare is available.”

The UN estimates 9.1 percent of sub-Saharan Africans have fallen into extreme poverty due to Covid.

The continent can’t get out of this hole alone. The developed world has to step up, but it doesn’t seem to want to.

Gerd Müller added: “Europe has decided to support its own economic programs worth around two trillion euros. No additional support is planned for Africa. That will catch up with us.”

For some politicians, it will be a hard sell. Swathes of people reeling from the effects of lockdown will ask why we should give Africans money when we need it more than ever ourselves. But that attitude needs to be discouraged.

Aside from pure humanitarianism, having more disease in the world hurts everyone. How can Africa prosper, improve economically and work alongside the developed world if its people are battling to stay alive?

There’s also the BLM movement to consider. Most world leaders – with the exception of Donald Trump – appear sympathetic, so they need to put their money where their mouths are if they really do think black lives matter.

Our own war with Covid is far from over. But in times of adversity, you find out who you really are.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×