Africa is not a monolith. Most African countries have robust health authorities with decades of epidemic experience. They locked down early. You know what makes them nervous? American and European NGOs and aid workers bringing the virus back into their countries.
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The countries where we face the biggest challenges are those like Libya, where CIA-backed warlords are trying to overthrow the UN-recognized official government. Iran, Venezuela and Cuba also face massive COVID challenges due to the crippling effects of US sanctions.
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Sierra Leone, which suffered the world’s worst Ebola outbreak in 2014-16, declared a 12-month emergency on 25 March, before their first case of coronavirus was even confirmed. They restricted travel into & out of the country and banned public gatherings.https://www.umnews.org/en/news/ebola-offers-lessons-in-fighting-coronavirus-in-sierra-leone …
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It’s tempting to dismiss the low number of COVID cases in African countries as simply the result of under-reporting. However, countries like Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Mauritius have all ramped up sophisticated test-and-trace programs.https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/problem-predicting-coronavirus-apocalypse-africa-200505103847843.html …
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African countries have, sadly, decades of experience dealing with HIV and Ebola In Senegal, a laboratory has used its AIDS and Ebola experience to develop a $1 COVID-19 testing kit. There’s no way the $20 kits from Western countries can scale worldwide. https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/countingthecost/2020/04/senegal-1-covid-19-test-kit-race-vaccine-200425131112353.html …
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I don’t mean to suggest that all African countries are going to be OK. We are very worried about countries experiencing “complex emergencies” involving ethnic and sectarian violence, political instability, and food insecurity. Libya, South Sudan, and Burkina Faso worry us.
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Same in ITA: less affluent regions provided a more robust response due to higher attention and financing and organization of primary/family/GP care vs richer areas, focused on sophisticated hospital practices
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MD from Sierra Leone (w Africa) was on NPR the other day mentioning how Paul Farmer was leading efforts in Massachusetts based on protocol he’d learned in Sierra Leone
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Uhhhh ok.
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You don't think we are? There's a short list of countries that are extremely concerning and the US is at the top.
#TheWorldIsWatching
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