Several countries in Southern Africa have reported cases of COVID-19. Governments across the region have experience of dealing with various crises, including disease outbreaks, and many are now taking tough measures. Yet weak health systems and high levels of poverty mean that, should the coronavirus become endemic in Southern Africa, the human cost could be catastrophic for the region and beyond. Even if this does not happen, economies in Southern Africa are already suffering as a result of the global economic downturn.
The United Nations (UN) has announced that it will create a fund for poor countries to: prevent the spread of coronavirus, support the treatment of patients, and tackle the long-term consequences of the crisis. This is a very welcome step, though of course it is important that the UN fund is adequately resourced by rich countries. Meanwhile the World Bank has approved a US$14 billion package of which US$6 billion will be dedicated to health system strengthening. These funds must be dedicated to building high quality, universal public health systems.
Many research initiatives are underway in rich countries to develop medicines and a vaccine for COVID-19. As the global system for developing and distributing medicines and vaccines is broken, large numbers of people in Southern Africa struggle to access them. It is essential that all medical interventions, including those relating to COVID-19, are driven by global public health needs and not by pharmaceutical companies’ profits.
The crisis is raising borrowing costs for Southern African countries just as the value of commodity exports, tourism and remittances are falling. There must be a complete moratorium on debt payments for the most economically vulnerable countries. Moreover, this crisis reinforces our demand for rich countries and multilateral institutions to support comprehensive public debt audits in Southern Africa, in order to facilitate the cancellation of illegal, odious and illegitimate debts.
It is crucial that Southern African governments do not exploit the crisis to silence criticism. Human rights defenders must be allowed to hold those in power to account. It is also critical that the crisis does not lead to the long-term surveillance of citizens in the region, including civil society activists and opposition politicians.