Day: April 16, 2020

After COVID-19, what will Africa look like in 2030 and 2063?

NewsRoom

THE COVID-19 pandemic, one of the world’s most significant events, has resulted in cessation of economic activities that will lead to a significant decline in GDP, an unprecedented social disruption, and the loss of millions of jobs. According to estimates by the African Development Bank, the contraction of the region’s economies will cost Sub-Saharan Africa between $35 billion and $100 billion due to an output decline and a steep fall in commodity prices, especially the crash of oil prices. By Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka More fundamentally, the pandemic has brutally exposed…

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COVID-19 pandemic bolsters case for technology-based economic resilience

NewsRoom

AS the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating impact globally, the African continent, while less affected, is preparing to undergo its own severe social and economic crisis. As of April 7, over 10,000 cases have been reported across 52 countries in Africa (less than 1% of cases globally). Stefan Nalletamby Yet despite the slow onset, Africa’s fragile health systems will be overwhelmed if the virus continues to spread. To avoid this scenario, governments are implementing contingency measures with striking collateral damage in the form of shops and factories closing, workers being sent home,…

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De-funding WHO Will Be Catastrophic- The Union Warns

Michael Gwarisa

THE International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) expressed its indignation at the decision by US President Trump to announce the suspension of its funding of the World Health Organization (WHO). The Union President,Professor Guy Marks said,“Undermining the WHO at a time when it is courageously leading the global coordination of the COVID-19 response is appalling public health policy. Infectious respiratory diseases know no borders and now is not the time to hinder global collaboration. The main game at present is to save lives, not to put them…

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