This archive report was first published on 5 June 2020.
Deep in the Central African Republic, a remote wildlife sanctuary is being used as a refuge for the country's Pygmies, who are at high risk of contracting the coronavirus.
Located in southwest CAR, Dzanga-Sangha is a narrow trail-linked sanctuary that becomes impassable in heavy rain, but for the region's Pygmies, its isolation could be a blessing.
As the virus spreads, with over 1,000 cases officially recorded and four deaths, a campaign has been launched to encourage the Bayaka people, who divide their time between the village and the forest, to hole up in the reserve.
"They are being asked to go and live in their hunting camps for three months," said Luis Arranz, in charge of the national park for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), on 2020-06-05.
"Every week, we're going to drop off cassava and medicines. They have to stay isolated. It's our only solution," he added.
Pygmies are considered especially at risk from novel diseases due to their poor overall health, poverty, and lifestyle.
"The infant mortality rate is very high among the Bayaka. Those who survive are likely to be more resistant to a virus, but we have no data about any vulnerability or natural immunity to imported diseases," said Emilia Bylicka, a doctor who spent four years caring for Pygmies in the CAR’s southwest.
The Pygmies' collective, semi-nomadic lifestyle could accelerate viral spread, according to Yvon Martial Amolet, a local lawyer and representative of the NGO House for Pygmy Children and Women based in the nearby town Bayanga.
