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Covid-19: Africa to help Europe?

This is a legitimate question when we observe the numbers: Europe has 20 times more recorded cases and 58 times more deaths than Africa, for a population half the size!

It is true that the figures currently available for Africa show the epidemic is still progressing, that there are insufficient tests, that statistical tracking is underdeveloped, etc. But it is also possible that the demographics of Africa have played a positive role: we know that the most vulnerable age group is 65 years and older. This sector represents just 3.5% of the African population, compared to over 18% in Europe. 

The fact that the vast majority of African countries were quick to apply but confinement measures may also explain to some measure the low number of victims observed to date.

Despite this, just four months from the onset of the pandemic, we can already see headlines starting to emerge in the Western media, claiming the situation in Africa is absolutely dire and it urgently needs help. To cite a few examples: "500 million people will fall into extreme poverty" (OXFAM); "It would take 2.5 trillion dollars to help poor countries" (Unctad); "They are dying of hunger" (Avaaz petition), etc.

But the reality is somewhat different, at least as far as aid is concerned. According to some estimates, more than 40 billion dollars leave Africa each year toward the rest of the world! (1) It would appear then that it is Africa that has been supplying aid to the rest of the world for years!

In response to Europe's initiatives on aid to Africa to combat covid-19, I think Europe should continue to concern itself first and foremost with the health of its own citizens. As Senegalese intellectual Felwine Sarr put it, "Europeans worry about us and we worry about them." (2)

That said, cancellation of the massive debt weighing heavily on the African countries should be an urgent priority. Furthermore, given its colonial past, Europe should return part of the wealth it has extracted - and continues to extract - from Africa, and pay compensation for the destruction of entire countries resulting from colonial exploitation, including slavery, the consequences of which endure to this day. 

And, finally, establishing relations based on true independence of the African countries should become an inviolable principle. This is what Africa urgently needs.

Benyounès

(1) World is plundering Africa's wealth of 'billions of dollars a year' The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/may/24/world-is-plundering-africa-wealth-billions-of-dollars-a-year

(2) "Quand l'Afrique s'inquiète pour l'Europe" https://www.google.com/amp/s/lesfrancais.press/coronavirus-quand-lafrique-sinquiete-pour-leurope-un-article-de-notre-partenaire-tv5-monde/amp/

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