COVID-19 post-pandemic reflections from sub-Saharan Africa: what we know now that we wish we knew then
Author(s)
Oleribe, Obinna O
Taylor-Robinson, Simon D
Taylor-Robinson, Andrew W
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The commonly heard aphorism about history repeating itself suggests an endless cycle of recurring events. However, George Santayana offered a similar sentiment when he said, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it". This emphasises that the responsibility for the recurrence of events lies not with history itself, but with humanity. It underscores that if we desire change, it is our responsibility to initiate it, rather than attributing it to external forces such as fate, luck, or time. With this thought in mind, here we offer a narrative view from sub-Saharan Africa, focusing primarily on our own experiences in Nigeria and Uganda, on what harsh lessons can be learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic regarding emergency preparedness to respond effectively to the next major infectious disease outbreak. Four strategies are suggested, the implementation of which may contribute substantially to safeguarding against an experience similar to the catastrophic public health, social and economic costs borne by African nations during COVID-19 and in its immediate aftermath.
Date Issued
2024-06
Date Acceptance
2024-02-19
Citation
Public Health in Practice, 2024, 7
ISSN
2666-5352
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Public Health in Practice
Volume
7
Copyright Statement
© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38495538
Subjects
Control
COVID-19
Infectious disease
Pandemic
Preparedness
Prevention
SARS-CoV-2
Sub-Saharan Africa
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
100486
Date Publish Online
2024-02-29