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Pacing Forward in the Face of Fragility

Lessons From African Institutions and Governments' Response to Public Health Emergencies

Bibliographic Data

ID22085874
AuthorsByron Bitanihirwe, Byron K Y Bitanihirwe (0000-0002-8630-3082, University of Manchester, corresponding author), Derrick Ssewanyana (0000-0003-1066-5674, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute), Ismael Ddumba-Nyanzi
Year2021
Volume9
Pages714812-714812
Publication date2021-11-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpubh.2021.714812
PMID34900886
OpenAlexW3215203056
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited58

Africa is home to 54 United Nation member states, each possessing a wealth of ethno-cultural, physiographic, and economic diversity. While Africa is credited as having the youngest population in the world, it also exhibits a unique set of “unfortunate realties” ranging from famine and poverty to volatile politics, conflicts, and diseases. These unfortunate realities all converge around social inequalities in health, that are compounded by fragile healthcare systems and a lack of political will by the continent's leaders to improve smart investment and infrastructure planning for the benefit of its people. Noteworthy are the disparities in responsive approaches to crises and emergencies that exist across African governments and institutions. In this context, the present article draws attention to 3 distinct public health emergencies (PHEs) that have occurred in Africa since 2010. We focus on the 2013–2016 Ebola outbreak in Western Africa, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which continues to spread throughout the continent, and the destructive locust swarms that ravaged crops across East Africa in 2020. Our aim is to provide an integrated perspective on how governments and institutions handled these PHEs and how scientific and technological innovation, along with educational response played a role in the decision-making process. We conclude by touching on public health policies and strategies to address the development of sustainable health care systems with the potential to improve the health and well-being of the African people

Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Famine · Geography · Health care · Political science · Politics · Population · Poverty · Public health · COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Medicine · Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research

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Unique citing works2
Citations per year0,67
Citation span2023 - 2026 (4)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 2
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