Olympian Noah Lyles COVID-19 Diagnosis: Wake-Up Call for Africa
That Novel Viruses Will Continue to Prey on the World & It's Time Africa Holds Fast to Lessons From COVID-19
Noah Lyles, the American Olympian, just tested positive for COVID-19. It is proof that COVID-19 and many such viruses will continue to prey on the world now and in the future.
As such, Africa must use this as a wake-up call to build robust healthcare systems that can weather the next pandemic.
During the African International Economic Law Network (AfIELN) Bridge Conference, Dr. Uche Ngwaba of Lincoln Alexender School of Law presented a paper on how Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in the continent could be used to catalyze regional health cooperation under the AfCFTA.
He highlighted some lessons from the pandemic, mainly how Intellectual Property Rights can be weaponized against developing states during global health crises.
One chilling statistic from the presentation was that at some point, Moderna, Pfizer, and BioNTech made $1000 profit every second while most of the global south (Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean) remained unvaccinated.
The paper went on to enumerate how Africa could leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to ensure that, come the next pandemic, the continent had enough pharmaceutical patents.
It got me thinking about other lessons from the pandemic that Africa must hold on to. Because the rest of the world might be rich and tech-advanced enough to sail through the next emergency, but Africa isn’t.
The continent stands a better chance of surviving and thriving through the next crisis if it uses the lessons from COVID-19 to build a healthcare system less dependent on global supply chains.
What are those lessons, though?
Globalization Has a Limit
Globalization refers to how connected and interdependent the world has become, thanks to trade and technology.
Unfortunately, when sh** stuff hit the fan in 2020, countries, especially wealthy countries, quickly dropped the ethos of globalization in favor of protectionism—prioritizing domestic supply and satisfaction at the expense of everyone else.
Many countries, for instance, imposed bans and restrictions on the export of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and medical supplies. It left many African countries, which import more than 90% of their medical supplies, desperate.
Covid-19 also disrupted food supply chains, as countries stockpiled supplies for their citizens. A World Bank report predicted a 6% to 20% decrease in the global supply of food exports.
In May 2023, when the World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 was no longer an emergency, 828 million people worldwide were going hungry, and most were in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Of the 48 countries that suffered the most from food insecurity during the pandemic, about 30 were in Sub-Saharan Africa. Yes, the Russia-Ukraine exacerbated the situation, but the problem started with the onset of the pandemic.
It shows that self-sufficiency in strategic industries is vital to the well-being of a country. Countries and continents live and die by their self-sufficiency in strategic sectors.
If Africa had not been so dependent on global food supply chains, 278 million Africans would not have suffered from chronic hunger.
Globalization is going nowhere. It might wane to a certain degree and change, but it is here to stay. Still, that is not permission for Africa to relax. It is time to pursue self-sufficiency in relevant industries as a cushion against the next crisis.
Covid-19 Was a Wake-Up Call to Remind African Countries the Importance of Coming Together as a Continent
Africa has always been a unique continent in that it has a lot of economically unviable states because of the political compromises of European colonial powers.
Did you know, for instance, that Africa is the continent with the most landlocked countries? Yes, 16. Such countries must be linked to larger structures to get goods out for export and generate trade revenue.
If it is not physical borders limiting a country, it is the fact that political systems in the continent did not develop naturally based on how people were already ruling themselves. They were imported from Europe, creating many teething issues (also known as coups and coup attempts in 41 out of 54 African countries over 60 years).
That is because colonial powers were not concerned with the economic viability of individual countries but rather the economic value of all the colonies together. It is the reason the British wanted colonies from Cairo to the Cape.
Such factors make EU-level regional integration and continental unity vital to Africa—more than in any other continent. More so in times of crisis.
During the early days of the pandemic—July 2020—the EU greenlit a 750 billion Euros recovery effort to help deal with the crisis and a special 2021-2027 budget of 1074.3 billion Euros to help with digital and green resilience.
That kind of financial power enabled the EU to bounce back quickly from the pandemic. In Germany, for instance, although spending dropped by over 60% in 2020, by 2021, it was back to 85% in pre-pandemic expenditures.
AfCFTA is like a young EU. Covid-19 has shown Africa that it is time to build the ‘young EU’ into a serious institution to cushion the continent against future crises.
The Gap in Tech Between Africa and the World is Huge & That is a Bad Thing
During the early days of Covid-19, it became clear that the digital resilience of developed countries is remarkable. Three core features determine digital resilience—business continuity, cybersecurity, and data governance.
Did you see how quickly businesses in Europe, Asia, and the US shifted online and continued operating as usual? How quickly they developed practical solutions? A World Bank report noted that Eurasia was the most digitally resilient region.
African countries, in contrast, failed in all three parameters. With the emergence of AI, Africa needs to give its all to catch up to avoid suffering come the next crisis.
Out of curiosity and frustration, I asked ChatGPT what it thinks. Here is an interesting response.
Me: What is your prediction? Is there a reality in which Africa's tech development and innovation catch up with the rest of the world? How long do you think it will take?
ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I cannot make predictions with certainty or accuracy. However, I can say that many factors will determine the pace and level of Africa's catch-up with the rest of the world regarding tech development and innovation.
These factors include political stability, investment in infrastructure, education, research and development, access to capital, and supportive policies and regulations.
With the right investments and policies, it's possible that Africa's tech sector could catch up with the rest of the world in the next few decades, but this is highly dependent on many different variables, and the actual timeline is difficult to predict.
Did you catch that? A few decades! That’s depressing, especially considering the current political environment and Africa only invests 0.45% of its GDP in research and development.
Conclusion
Covid was rough, heartbreaking, and devastating, but to quote President Yoweri Museveni👇🏽
Harsh words, maybe, but true. To avoid going back to sleep and waiting until the next pandemic that will yet again expose the foolishness of those who did not heed COVID-19’s lesson, Africa must hold fast to the lessons it learned during the pandemic.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed the piece, kindly
This gave me chills! How enlightening and deeply thought provoking