This archive report was first published on 6 May 2020.
Published on May 6, 2020, Raila Odinga, the African Union Head of Infrastructure Development, has likened the Covid-19 pandemic to a third world war without bombs. The pandemic has ravaged countries worldwide, with the United States and Italy recording the highest infections and deaths.
“Even during the Second World War we did not have this extent of casualties that we are witnessing within a short period of time,” Raila said, highlighting the unprecedented scale of the pandemic.
Despite the challenges, Raila praised African countries for their proactive response to the pandemic, citing South Africa, Rwanda, and Uganda as examples of countries that quickly implemented containment measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Africa’s coronavirus cases stood at 48,808 with the death toll at 1,902 as of May 6, according to the latest data by the John Hopkins University and Africa Center for Disease Control on Covid-19 in Africa.
However, Raila noted that the continent was not well prepared for the pandemic due to a lack of information on the extent of the danger posed by the virus. “How would we have prepared when we didn’t know the magnitude of the pandemic?” he posed.
Despite the devastating effects of the pandemic, Raila expressed optimism that the continent could rise again in the Post-Covid-19 era, citing the potential for coordinated efforts and innovations to revive the economy.
He applauded the innovations that have come up during the pandemic among African nations, including the design of ventilators by Kenyatta University students and a Covid-19 diagnostic test that can be done at home and produce results in 10 minutes for one dollar in Senegal.
“Each crisis offers an opportunity” Raila said, emphasizing the need for the continent to think outside the box and become self-reliant after the pandemic.
