By Felix Dela Klutse
Faced with the spread of COVID-19, which has already killed 39,000 persons across the world, some African nations have decided to use chloroquine to treat their patients. Until recently, Chloroquine Phosphate was a widely used anti-malaria and autoimmune disease drug for more than 70 years.
Like Morocco and Senegal, which advocate the use of chloroquine, the authorities have announced two clinical trials of this drug on people with COVID-19. However, Roger Nebié, the Director General of Centre National de Recherche Scientifique et Technologique told Business Day that the first results will have to wait.
“The trial protocols have been completed and must be validated by the ministry of health’s ethics commission. Only then will we actually start the clinical trials,” he explains.
Burkina Faso is also cooperating with neighbouring Benin, which had also authorised the use of chloroquine for therapeutic purposes.
“Both countries are conducting an international clinical trial called Api-COVID-19, which aims to evaluate the clinical and virological efficacy of a herbal drug called Apivirine in patients with COVID-19,” Alkassoum Maïga, the scienctific research minister of Burkina Faso, has disclosed.
Africa already has over 5,232 confirmed cases, with some fatalities recorded in countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana since last week. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says about half of the continent’s countries still have a narrowing window to curb the spread of the disease.
Top 5 confirmed cases by country
| Country | Cases |
| South Africa | 1326 |
| Egypt | 656 |
| Algeria | 584 |
| Morocco | 556 |
| Tunisia | 312 |
The WHO continues to admonish governments across the continent to trace and isolate suspected victims and those who have been in touch with imported cases in order to prevent transmission, stressing that, public education around social distancing remains essential.
However, despite the steady progress in the provision of healthcare services over the years, many African nations are unprepared for the threats posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Access to basic health services remains the exception rather than the norm, while hand washing is an unaffordable luxury to half the population who lack access to clean water. Social distancing is problematic in a culture which is deeply communal and often features many generations living side by side.
While African countries have made their own financial interventions to mitigate the impact, Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, highlighted the urgency of international support in an interview with Business Day Media Ghana. He said momentary victory by a rich country in controlling the virus at a national level, coupled with travel bans and border closures, may give a semblance of accomplishment but only global victory can bring the pandemic to an end.
“A virus that ignores borders cannot be tackled successfully like this. We can defeat this invisible and vicious adversary — but only with global leadership,” he explained further.
In a bid to rally support and funding for the fight against coronavirus in Africa, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, said the virus will “bounce back to the rest of the world” if it is not properly controlled on the continent.
“While advanced economies are unveiling unprecedented economic stimulus packages, African countries lack the financial means to make similarly meaningful interventions,” he lamented.
But all is not that gloomy. Many countries on the continent are doing their best to fight the further spread of the coronavirus.
Leading the way
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has issued a $3bn bond in an effort to help alleviate the economic and social fallout from the coronavirus pandemic in Africa. With a three-year maturity and an interest rate of 0.75%, the ‘Fight COVID-19’ social bond is the largest of its kind ever launched in international capital markets to date. Oversubscribed by $1.6bn, Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the Bank, said it will “provide significant rapid support for African countries”.
Perfect timing
Somalia has taken all the necessary steps to rebuild economic ties with the World Bank and the IMF, confirming its eligibility for debt relief at a crucial juncture as the country confirms its third coronavirus case. The capital of Somalia, Mogadishu has been in arrears to the IMF for over three decades – the second-longest period of protracted arrears after Sudan. Most of its $5.2bn external debt will be forgiven as part of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries’ Initiative (HIPC).
Soften the blow
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta. has announced a raft of measures to soften the coronavirus blow for the most vulnerable, including 100% tax relief for citizens earning a gross income of $240 or less per month. Speaking from his official residence in Nairobi, Kenyatta said income tax and corporation tax will also be cut from 30% to 25%. This came as Kenya’s confirmed cases increases to 31 and the president announced a curfew from 7pm to 5am, starting Friday 27 March.
Egypt Calling
The Cairo-based African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced a $3bn credit facility to help African countries overcome the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility will help support foreign exchange reserves and assist commodity exporters with declining revenues, the bank said in a statement.
Lockdown
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, has announced a 21-day total lockdown on the 56m inhabitants of South Africa, telling them that sweeping measures were necessary to avoid a catastrophe of huge proportions. South Africa has recently overtaken Egypt as the country with the most cases in Africa, the number rising to 927 on Friday.
“The numbers will continue to rise. It is clear that … we need to urgently and dramatically escalate our response,” Ramaphosa told the nation.
The South African Treasury has announced a series of tax breaks to help businesses cope with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. It had previously banned visitors from major trading partners including the US, China, Germany and the UK. Employers will be offered a tax subsidy of up to $30 per month for the next four months, which could benefit over 4m private sector employees earning below $365.
An estimated 75,000 small and medium enterprises with a turnover of $2.8m or less will be allowed to delay 20% of their employees’ tax liabilities over the next four months and a portion of their provisional corporate income tax payments, while the South African Revenue Service will accelerate the payment of employment tax incentive reimbursements.
Life insurance cover
Ghana, another lockdown nation, has announced on Saturday it will provide insurance for healthcare professionals and other associated workers who are on the front line in the fight against coronavirus. In a statement signed by the minister of health, death will be covered up to $60,000 and critical illness up to $4,300.
According to World Bank data, Ghana had 0.2 physicians per thousand people and 1.2 nurses in 2017. The number of physicians places it behind north-African countries like Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt; richer sub-Saharan Africa countries like South Africa; and Africa’s island nations including Seychelles and Cabo Verde. The top four countries worldwide are Cuba, Monaco, San Marin and Sweden, although most recent data varies.
Private sector donations
Many of Nigeria’s private sector leaders have made large donations to the government to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. Bankers and industrialists including Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Femi Otedola, Tony Elumelu, Herbert Wigwe, Segun Agbaje and Jim Ovia have each donated $2.5m.
“We are pulling together resources across industries to provide technical and operational support, while providing funding and building advocacy through aggressive awareness drives,” said the CEO of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe.
Nigeria has 131 confirmed cases as Africa’s most populous country announced a lockdown for major cities starting yesterday.
Prisoners released to stem spread of coronavirus
The UN-backed government in Tripoli has released more than 450 prisoners as part of measures to halt the spread of coronavirus. The detainees were in pre-trial detention or had qualified for conditional release, a statement released by the justice ministry said on Sunday.
In the midst of fighting a civil war, Tripoli’s overcrowded detention centres were seen as dangerous areas of transmission. While Libya’s north-African neighbours have reported the most cases on the continent excluding South Africa, the war-torn nation only recorded its first case last Tuesday. The number of cases has today risen to eight, while many suspect the actual figure is much higher due to the country’s poor capacity to properly test for and identify the virus.
This is the shocker
Morocco has mobilised $3.24bn in financial resources in the fight against coronavirus, making it the fourth-largest donor worldwide. Amounting to 2.7% of GDP, the north-African country was bested only by New Zealand (4%), Chile (4.7%) and Sweden (6%).
Adding to its contribution, a special fund worth $1bn was announced by King Mohammed VI last month to combat the spread of the virus. Several banks, government officials and the king contributed to the fund which has more than doubled in size. Companies such as Afriquia Gas and OCP Group also made major contributions donating $100m and $305m respectively.
12-month public health emergency
Sierra Leone has declared a 12-month public health emergency to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, despite being one of the few African countries with no confirmed cases. The West African nation suffered greatly under the ebola outbreak in 2014, and it appears to be taking no chances during this pandemic.
“The rapid global spread of the coronavirus poses an immense risk to human beings that can lead to major loss of life and can cause socioeconomic disruption in Sierra Leone,” said President Julius Maada Bio in a televised speech.
Song on coronavirus released
Ugandan lawmaker and musician, Bobi Wine, released a song called ‘Coronavirus alert’ to raise awareness about how to minimise the spread of the virus. The controversial figure in Ugandan politics used East Africa’s rumba melodies to inform listeners about the importance of personal hygiene.
“The bad news is that everyone is a potential victim,” Wine sings. “But the good news is that everyone is a potential solution.”
After reporting very few cases, Uganda’s number of confirmed cases has risen sharply to 18 over the last few days. President Yoweri Museveni’s government has already taken a raft of measures including sealing off borders, closing bars, and banning public gatherings to contain the outbreak.
Additional Financial Support
As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa soars to almost 5,000, Ghana’s finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta has warned that the continent has reached a “break the glass moment.” Although reported cases are far behind Europe and North America, international actors need to take drastic action to support Africa’s fragile health systems, he told the media.
Global lenders like the World Bank and IMF need to continue to offer financial support and debt relief, he added. The virus, which has affected 46 African countries to date, could wipe out 5-10% of the continent’s GDP as sectors such as tourism, aviation and trade are worse hit.
Mr. Ofori-Atta last week co-chaired a meeting in which African finance ministers called for a $100bn stimulus package. Ghana is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most affected countries after South Africa, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire. Managing to issue a $3bn Eurobond in January before the pandemic took hold, Ghana is better equipped than other African countries to finance a decent response to the virus.
“Without it, we would have been in tatters completely,” Ofori-Atta said.
The IMF receives bailout requests
The IMF has received requests for emergency financing from almost 20 African countries and are expecting 10 more soon, according to a blog post from senior staff in the Africa department, Director Abebe Aemro Selassie and advisor Karen Ongley.
In a global response, the fund is making $50bn available via rapid-disbursing emergency facilities, including $10bn on highly concessional terms for low-income countries. They expect the first wave of support to be delivered in early April, but say that countries can pursue a range of fiscal policies to mitigate the impact.
