“Yesterday, the daily Enquête au Senegal reports, during the daily update of the situation with coronavirus, the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs reported eight new contaminants out of a total of 608 tests, including two imported cases. ”
Senegal, therefore, an example among others of a low level of pollution.
And overall, the pandemic on the continent has not had the devastating effects that some predicted.
This is what World Africa : “On the world map of the pandemic, Africa continues to stand out. While neighboring Europe seems submerged again, the number of known pollutants is comparable to that in France. More than nine months after the advent of Covid-19 on the continent, 1.95 million cases have been reported, or less than 4% of the cases recorded worldwide, while the continent has 17% of the inhabitants of the planet. ”
Admittedly, Le Monde Afrique continues, “the questions about the reliability of the figures have not disappeared, motivated by the low level of screening – less than 20 million tested in total. However, no country has observed peaks in excess mortality that it can not explain, which may indicate that the virus has spread under the radar. Week after week, despite their general inadequacy, the health infrastructures made it possible to manage. And the catastrophic expectations of the early days were not met. ”
West and Central Africa were slightly affected
In fact, Le Monde Afrique continues, “the epidemic has changed and it is in the northern part of the continent, Morocco and Egypt at the forefront that it is going fastest today. South of the Sahara, Kenya is also facing higher levels of pollution than in summer. Here and there, even a reconstruction is planned. South Africa, which concentrates more than 40% of diagnosed patients on the continent, has not returned but there is still concern. ”
Apart from the north, south and east sides, the continent seems to be spared. Examples in Cameroon, as explained, still in Le Monde Afrique, head of the Pasteur Institute in Yaoundé, Elisabeth Carniel: “very few people had to be hospitalized. Few have died. The occupancy rate for Covid beds is 1%. The fence was little respected and today everyone goes to mass or participates in sports gatherings without wearing masks. Something protected the people. What exactly? I do not know.”
So how do you explain this resistance to the virus? According to the WHO, Le Monde Afrique points out, “the early response of governments in the management of the new coronavirus, the mastery of screening and tracking methods in a region accustomed to dealing with recurrent infections, is the crucial element in explaining the unique development on the continent. Although the WHO does not rule out that other hypotheses are often advancing: a high proportion of young people in the age pyramid, low integration of Africa into the main avenues of international mobility or even better resistance among the populations acquired through regular exposure to viruses … ”
Mo Ibrahim Index 2020: a worrying assessment
Also on the front page, good control of the decline on the continent …
For the first time in ten years, the Ibrahim Index of Governance in Africa notes a deterioration in the situation. “The publication is expected every year, notes Young Africa, if only to find out who the good and bad students were in the past year. The Ibrahim Index of Governance in Africa, produced by the Anglo-Sudanese billionaire Mo Ibrahim’s Foundation, has become an institution. ”
Bad surprise therefore: “for the first time since the Mo Ibrahim Foundation came into the task, the overall governance status in Africa is on the way back. Since 2010, says Jeune Afrique, in the four main categories maintained (namely: participation, rights and inclusion; security and the rule of law; human development, the basis of economic opportunity), the situation has continued to improve. Since 2015, however, this growth has slowed. And in 2019, we saw for the first time a decline in the average score, which applies to three of four categories (only “economic opportunities” are saved). (…) At the top of the rankings, ie on the side of the countries where rights and legality are best respected, we find Mauritius, followed by Cape Verde, the Seychelles, Tunisia and Botswana. South Africa, Morocco, Senegal and Rwanda are not far behind, Niger, Mali and Gabon are in the middle of the table, while the three Guineans and the two Congos move to the bottom of the class, ahead of the trio that lifts behind: Eritrea, South Sudan and Somalia. ”
