The changing story of a vulnerable continent better prepared to respond to pandemics

The story of epidemics and pandemics in Africa is wrought with narratives of inequality, discrimination, inequity, and lessons not learned. Despite hundreds of thousands of deaths and huge economic losses, African political leaders have steadily made progress toward strengthening the continent's capacity to prevent, detect, alert, and respond to pandemics.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that Africa still has a long way to go before it develops the appropriate and robust health systems required to effectively respond to national and international health crises, the African continent has demonstrated the strength and resilience of its people in the face of this unprecedented disease. Its response and resilience is partly, if not largely, due to the experiences from past epidemics and decisions and actions that have strengthened Africa's health architecture at the continental, regional, and national levels.

Read more...