Weekly Regional COVID-19 updates – 22 Sept 2020:
Header Image: “coronavirus-covid-19” by Nursing Schools Near Me is licensed under CC BY 2.0
General:
The 2020 Goalkeepers Report shows wholesale derailment of development goals due to Covid-19. And with nations scrambling for control of a vaccine, the worst may still be to come.
Beating COVID-19 in Africa Begins With National Labs
Source: https://www.cfr.org/blog/beating-covid-19-africa-begins-national-labs
How we respond to COVID-19 and its impacts on the basis of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights could prove to be the litmus test for mitigating the grave consequences to the political freedoms and socio-economic rights of people on the continent.
Source: https://www.accord.org.za/analysis/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-human-and-peoples-rights-in-africa/
Here are four issues at the center of the COVID crisis for which recovery strategies can address inequality, the economic crisis and climate change all at once. While these issues by no means reflect all of the ways in which responses to climate change and inequality intersect, they are central to the challenges that the COVID-19 crisis has laid bare.
South Africa:
Covid-19 and the youth of Madundube – a microcosm of rural South Africa
Despite authorities warning against complacency, residents in places such as Khayelitsha in Cape Town are not just more relaxed under lockdown Level 2, but many are abandoning Covid-19 safety precautions altogether.
South Africa Easing Restrictions as Coronavirus Infections Drop
South Africa facing ‘mammoth task’ to rebuild coronavirus-hit economy. As cases drop, president announces easing of restrictions and calls on country to ‘get to work rebuilding’ the economy.
Angola:
Why COVID-19 can’t be blamed for Angola’s failure to have local governance
Eswatini:
The Japanese funds will support WFP’s General Food Assistance programme which targets communities with a high prevalence of food insecurity and malnutrition as a result of poor food production, drought and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ambrose Dlamini told foreign journalists that countries in the region should have cooperated more closely and leveraged their strength to help smaller countries buy personal protective equipment.
Malawi:
UN Malawi COVID-19 Update Situation Update No. 27 (at 18 September 2020)
Teachers in Malawi have threatened to boycott the opening of schools next week if they are not paid a Covid-19 risk allowance.
Source: https://www.polity.org.za/article/malawi-teachers-threaten-to-strike-over-covid-19-risk-allowance-2020-09-03
Zambia:
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the World Bank Group has taken fast action to help strengthen the global pandemic response. Projects are deploying $160 billion in financing, with support tailored to the health, economic, and social shocks countries are facing.
Source: https://reliefweb.int/report/zambia/tackling-mental-health-taboos-amid-pandemic
Zimbabwe:
Children’s continued learning and welfare should be at the centre of decisions around school re-open