African Responses to COVID-19: The Reckoning of Agency?

Amy S Patterson,Emmanuel Balogun

doi:10.1017/asr.2020.122

Abstract

AbstractAlthough the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed over one million lives globally by late 2020, Africa had avoided a massive outbreak. Patterson and Balogun analyze pandemic responses by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and various states collaborating with civil society. They argue that responses display forms of agency rooted in contextually relevant expertise, pan-African solidarity, and lessons learned about health messaging and community mobilization from previous health crises. Yet collaboration has not always been harmonious, as actors have adopted various approaches in their interactions with global health institutions and civil society partnerships, and they have actively debated the use of traditional medicine as a COVID-19 treatment.

Highlights

By late 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, which began with the novel coronavirus that was first identified in China in December 2019, had caused over one million deaths and significant economic downturn worldwide
Assuming that Africa’s health systems would be unable to engage in the surveillance, testing, and patient care needed to limit viral spread, in early 2020 health experts predicted a surge in COVID-19 cases in the region and widespread economic destruction (African Union 2020g)
Analyzing the actions of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and patterns with state-civil society collaboration, this article illustrates the deepening of creative and diverse forms of agency, many rooted in solidarity, norms of cooperation, and epistemic communities (Tieku 2013)

Summary

Introduction

By late 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, which began with the novel coronavirus that was first identified in China in December 2019, had caused over one million deaths and significant economic downturn worldwide. Analyzing the actions of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and patterns with state-civil society collaboration, this article illustrates the deepening of creative and diverse forms of agency, many rooted in solidarity, norms of cooperation, and epistemic communities (Tieku 2013).

Results

Conclusion