EYESHENZHEN  /   Opinion

Africa cannot be ignored

Writer: Winton Dong  |  Editor: Jane Chen  |  From: Shenzhen Daily 

COVID-19 is sweeping the world. While many countries are busy fighting the rampant pandemic and calling for international cooperation, some other places such as many African nations, seem rather quiet.

Is Africa as quiet, or as safe, as it may appear?

According to Guangzhou Health Commission, the capital city of Guangdong Province recorded a total of 79 imported COVID-19 cases as of March 29, among which 18 cases came from the flight number ET606, which flies between Ethiopia and Guangzhou. Such a high percentage of infected cases from the same African flight in several days is really appalling.

Another piece of news released by Guangzhou police reported that on April 1, a 47-year-old Nigerian man being treated in a Guangzhou hospital for COVID-19, forcefully left his quarantine ward and assaulted a nurse who tried to stop him from doing so. The African man arrived in Guangzhou on March 20 and tested positive for the virus the same day.

On one hand, these two pieces of news show that Guangzhou has strong business connections with the African continent. On the other hand, they also demonstrate that, despite the fact that Africa is still far behind Europe, Asia and North America in the number of infected coronavirus cases, the situation on the continent is not as good as it might seem. Much more than that, the two news reports signal that China should take decisive actions to control imported cases from Africa and make sure that foreigners follow China’s laws.

According to African media reports, some African governments have not yet fully realized the seriousness of the pandemic. Since the vast continent and its huge population have already been disproportionately affected by HIV, tuberculosis, Ebola, dengue fever and other infectious diseases, they may regard the pandemic as nothing more than a common flu just like what some Western politicians have said.

Meanwhile, under-resourced economies and weak health-care systems within the continent cannot afford the burden of testing each and every suspected case. 

Africa cannot be ignored. The whole world cannot win the battle of fighting the virus if it is spreading unchecked in Africa. With poor health conditions and limited medical resources, the continent will be dealt a deadly blow if the virus begins to spread into crowded, low-income areas. 

As for China, Africa may serve as a major channel of imported coronavirus cases. Although China has temporarily suspended the entry of all foreign nationals since March 28, some African cities, such as Addis Ababa, are important transfer points for Chinese citizens who are going to return home from Europe and North America since direct flights have been greatly reduced.

International assistance is indispensable for the poor continent to deal with the pandemic. 

The Chinese Government and businesses have already offered a helping hand to them. Specifically, as of March 26, the Chinese Government had offered medical and technical support to 26 African countries, and Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, also donated a number of medical supplies to South Sudan in March.

Since all countries have a responsibility to prevent and control their own outbreaks, international help is to some extent limited. Moreover, prolonged drought, unstable politics and even extremist unrest in some African countries such as Somalia also pose great danger to aid and support coming in from abroad.

African nations should be better prepared and mainly depend on themselves to take precautions and tackle the hard issues. Governments should call on their citizens to self-quarantine and work at home where possible. 

Some stricter measures and even lockdown to contain the pandemic should also be introduced, if necessary. 

As one of the strongest economies in the region, but also the most severely hit, South Africa has already imposed a 21-day nationwide lockdown, effective from March 26. Rwanda and Zimbabwe have taken similar measures, and parts of Nigeria and Ghana have also been temporarily locked down.

More importantly, all African countries should demonstrate a willingness to assist each other, build a community for a shared future and combine the forces of health practitioners from both public and private sectors as soon as possible to fight against the virus.

(The author is the editor-in-chief of Shenzhen Daily.)