East Africa

EAST AFRICA COVID-19 SITUATION, CHALLENGES, AND RESPONSE  

By Frank Dimmock (Africa Mission Specialist – The Outreach Foundation) 

As I write this, on April 9th, 51 of the 54 African countries have reported cases of the Coronavirus or COVID-19. South Sudan became the 51st country on Sunday, April 5, to identify a case. Many of the initial African cases were ‘imported’ by visitors from Europe and the Middle East to South Africa, Nigeria, and Rwanda.  

Steps have been taken by Governments to close land and air borders to people, allowing only freight shipments. 

Social Distancing and hygiene measures, based on Public Health guidance, have been implemented, non-essential services have been closed and curfews initiated. 

The health systems in most Sub-Saharan African countries are not equipped to handle this pandemic. For example, Kenya has 14 general hospital beds per 10,000 population and Ethiopia has 3.  

Many people in East Africa are living in informal settlements (slums), such as: in Nairobi, Ethiopia, Uganda, and DRC. These informal settlements are characterized by poor quality and dense housing and limited basic services – utilities, water, and sanitation. In these cases, social distancing, isolation of cases and contact tracing are almost impossible. 

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