News Alert: COVID-19's toll on Africa "could be like nothing we have seen before"

Although the COVID-19 crisis is yet to reach Africa at the levels being seen in Europe, we already know that due to the vulnerability of some African countries, ongoing conflicts, as well as the climate crisis, the continent will require a unique and large-scale approach to overcome the pandemic. 

Mercy Corps’ Regional Director for Africa, Sean Granville-Ross says:

“One-fifth of Africa’s population, nearly 250 million people, doesn’t have enough to eat; this is double any other region. This doesn’t just mean that people are more susceptible to becoming ill from the coronavirus, but with lockdowns, border closures and the ability to access food curtailed, the impact of COVID-19 on Africa could be like nothing we have seen before.
 
Many African countries are still grappling with other challenges; in the Horn of Africa a plague of desert locusts are descending on farmlands wiping out crops and pastures, and in the Sahel, nearly 30 million people are struggling to find food amid escalating violence.

During this critical time, we must continue to prioritise immediate life-saving or life-sustaining assistance to vulnerable communities on the continent, including maintaining supply chains from rural areas to cities. And whilst helping to reduce risk-factors for the spread of COVID19, we must ensure we are not doing unnecessary harm to livelihoods and markets.”

Mercy Corps works in 17 countries across Africa, with all of our teams now working, amid huge constraints, to continue programming where possible, and pivoting to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.