Dear Readers, After careful consideration, African Business has taken the decision to suspend the Covid-19 liveblog. Although the pandemic will continue to affect our lives and economies for the foreseeable future, we have decided to focus on in-depth analysis, which is best represented on our website. Please continue to visit our homepage for updates and economic analysis from our dedicated team of business journalists. Yours sincerely, African Business ..read more

Covid-19 cases have risen to over 100,000 this week, as policymakers take differing approaches to deal with the pandemic. Ghana and South Africa were some of the first countries to begin easing restrictions while Kenya and Sudan have decided to extend lockdowns. Concerns are mounting over Tanzania and Burundi which have failed to take the virus seriously. Insurgencies in countries like Somalia and Mali have also stoked fears that governments dealing with conflict will be unable to get a handle on the virus. African leaders have voiced their concerns over the lack of fiscal space to provide com ..read more

Guest post by Robert Comba, The Africa List “In Ghana, the situation is quite similar to a lot of developing economies: the public sector tries to meet the demand for healthcare but the demand is quite significant.” Dr Elikem Tamaklo is speaking to us on the phone from Accra. He is the Managing Director of the Nyaho Medical Centre, Ghana’s oldest private group medical practice. Although accurate data can be a little tricky to come by, he estimates that the public sector provides around 40% to 60% of the country’s healthcare, the rest is delivered by private providers.  Around the world, C ..read more

Eighty-three thousand to 190 000 people in Africa could die of COVID-19 and 29m to 44m could get infected in the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, a new study by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa finds. The research, which is based on prediction modelling, looks at 47 countries in the WHO African Region with a total population of one billion.  The new estimates are based on modifying the risk of transmission and disease severity by variables specific to each country in order to adjust for the unique nature of the region. The model predic ..read more

The IMF approved the disbursement of $739m to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility to support Kenya’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a serious toll on the Kenyan economy, significantly reducing growth, creating fiscal and external financing needs. It is important that the authorities resume their fiscal consolidation plans to reduce macroeconomic vulnerabilities once the crisis abates. The Executive Board approved the disbursement of SDR542.8 million (100 percent of quota, about $739 million) to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). This will h ..read more

Five international air transport and tourism bodies have launched an appeal to international financial institutions, country development partners and international donors to support Africa’s travel and tourism sector which employs some 24.6m people on the African continent. Without urgent funding, the COVID-19 crisis could see a collapse of the sector in Africa, taking with it millions of jobs. The sector contributes $169bn to Africa’s economy combined, representing 7.1% of the continent’s GDP. The request is being made by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the UN World Touris ..read more

With more than 800 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Somalia, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that many cases are going untested and undetected. Somalia has faced decades of violence and cycles of drought and floods, leaving its health care system ill-equipped to respond to this outbreak. Richard Crothers, Somalia Country Director at the IRC, said: “The IRC is extremely concerned that Somalia is becoming quickly overwhelmed by a major uptick in COVID-19 cases. The situation is on the verge of spiraling out of control. “We are seeing widespread community transmission in a country that ..read more

As Nigeria eases its lockdown health minister Osagie Ehanire has urged ministers to “be extra vigilant and be compliant with accompanying measures and guidelines that are meant to assure that we do not lose the health gains we have made so far, since our COVID-19 statistics are of considerable concern.” He continued: “We can say we are fully in community transmission mode and our strategy is to take all persons who test positive to isolation, even if they have no symptoms, so that they do not risk infecting others, who may be more vulnerable due to other diseases. “We need to protect, not only ..read more

The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes innovations around the world including repurposing drugs, traditional medicines and developing new therapies in the search for potential treatments for COVID-19, it said in a press release yesterday. It added: “WHO recognizes that traditional, complementary and alternative medicine has many benefits and Africa has a long history of traditional medicine and practitioners that play an important role in providing care to populations. “Medicinal plants such as Artemisia annua are being considered as possible treatments for COVID-19 and should be tested ..read more

The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) a philanthropic endeavor of Aliko Dangote, has contracted 54Gene, a molecular diagnostics company specialized in research, and diagnostics, to immediately set up a 400 test per day capacity laboratory in Kano State. The lab, which was inaugurated yesterday, will start with a testing capacity of 400 tests a day, increasing to 1,000 tests a day by May 10th. Aliko Dangote said the foundation is directly supporting the Nigerian government’s COVID-19 containment efforts in Kano State. According to Africa’s richest man, this new investment in support of increasing ..read more