African Responses to Covid-19

The Reckoning of Agency

Bibliographic Data

ID7230410
AuthorsAmy S Patterson (0000-0003-2891-3162), Emmanuel Balogun (0000-0002-7531-9564, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume64
Issue1
Pages144-167
Publication date2021-02-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAfrican Studies Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-0206 • E-ISSN: 1555-2462
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/asr.2020.122
OpenAlexW3133252367
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited56

Although the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed over one million lives globally by late 2020, Africa had avoided a massive outbreak. Patterson and Balogun analyze pandemic responses by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and various states collaborating with civil society. They argue that responses display forms of agency rooted in contextually relevant expertise, pan-African solidarity, and lessons learned about health messaging and community mobilization from previous health crises. Yet collaboration has not always been harmonious, as actors have adopted various approaches in their interactions with global health institutions and civil society partnerships, and they have actively debated the use of traditional medicine as a COVID-19 treatment

Agency (philosophy · Civil society · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Disease · Economic growth · Infectious disease (medical specialty · Pandemic · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Solidarity · Global Security and Public Health · Law · Medicine · Public Administration · Religion, Society, and Development · Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research