COVID-19: the urgency of the doable for an African scientific leadership

Abstract

While Africa has long seemed paradoxically partly spared from the COVID-19 epidemic that is engulfing the rest of the planet, we are witnessing an upward surge in the dynamics of the epidemic across the continent. How to account for this unprecedented reversal of the COVID-19 epidemic situation in Africa, initially delayed compared to other continents, then apparently contained and now difficult to control? In our opinion, at least two factors play a major role in the current spread of the COVID-19 epidemic in Africa: the structural inadequacy of health systems and the serious deficiencies in the African approach to the response. We believe that political decision-makers must assume their responsibilities and inform their decisions on the basis of scientific facts, taking into account the specificities of our approaches to life, the only ones capable of containing fears and participating in the optimal management of crises and ultimately in the development of African nations. If Africa fails, the impact could be catastrophic not only from a health standpoint, but also from an economic standpoint and therefore from an overall human perspective. The great nations, like the great civilizations, know how to transform apparent challenges into undeniable opportunities to rise up. African scientists will similarly rise up, to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 epidemic.