There have been three key instances in the United Nations where African countries have had the opportunity to express their views on the Russia-Ukraine war and how it relates to international law. This post provides relevant infographics which can help in summarising and illustrating these views. First, on March 2nd 2022, member states of the …
Prior to and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, civil society, governments and media outlets have issued constant warnings of a ‘African debt crisis’. While our infographics to date have shown that these concerns are overblown for various reasons, and have been proved right so far, we thought it was worth revisiting the numbers once again, to check …
Infographic: The “African debt crisis” playbook – What’s the real story? Read More »
Named for its first detection in 1958 in lab primates, monkeypox had previously been considered as a pathogen of high priority by the WHO. Perhaps due to its low fatality rate and/or its typical detection in a few West African countries – barring an outbreak in the US in 2003 – the disease received little …
Updated Every Month As COVID-19 social distancing interventions continue to be relaxed in many countries and the world approaches a possible endemic stage of the pandemic, vaccination continues to be pushed as an effective strategy as new variants of COVID-19 continue to emerge. Simultaneously, progress is also being made around new treatment methods for those …
Infographic: Beyond Vaccines – Africa is being locked out of new therapies for COVID-19 Read More »
On 24th February 2022 Russia announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Since then, not only has the war led to loss of life, destruction of property and business, it has immensely affected global trade in of which Russia and Ukraine are significant players in some areas. For instance, fifteen percent of global grain exports come …
Infographic: The Russia-Ukraine War: A New Economic Crisis in Africa? Read More »
Updated Every Month As COVID-19 social distancing interventions continue to be relaxed in many countries in favour of vaccine-led strategies, while new variants of COVID-19 continue to emerge, the way forward for global COVID-19 management seems very unclear. Our infographics have continually demonstrated the continued efforts of African governments to vaccinate their populations. However, vaccine …
Infographic: Can African countries rely on vaccines to manage COVID-19? Read More »
Updated Every Month March 1st marks one year since COVID-19 vaccines were first distributed by an African country. Since then, African countries have only been able to procure 633 million vaccines with over 60% of these doses already administered. To bring this into focus, just one country – the US – with a population a …
Are Africans getting the right combination of COVID-19 vaccines? Read More »
Our infographic series has demonstrated that in a number of ways, African countries are continuing to act in a globally responsible manner to manage COVID-19 despite constrained circumstances. This month, we uncover the finance that is still being spent to address COVID-19 and its effects, especially given the need for social distancing, and the number …
Infographic: African countries had to spend billions to manage COVID-19 in 2021 Read More »
Updated Every Month During November 2021, the WHO announced a new COVID-19 variant of concern – B.1.1.529 – now known commonly as Omicron. First detected by South Africa and sequenced by Sikhulile Moyo, a researcher based in Botswana, over 11,000 global cases of Omicron have been recorded. Our final infographic of 2021 thus turns to …
African countries are being vilified for Omicron – here is the evidence how Read More »
Updated Every Month African Statistics Day is celebrated on the 18 November every year and the use of good reliable data has never been more important. Our research on COVID-19 – utilising public data on case numbers, deaths, social distancing, vaccines and even spending programmes – has been essential to measuring the impact of the …
Is low vaccine access for African countries an anomaly? The data says no Read More »
The China-Africa Internet Development And Cooperation Forum Speech by a senior African diplomat in China at the China-Africa Internet Development And Cooperation Forum in Beijing (August 2021). Recommendations by the Development Reimagined team for the FOCAC 2021 action plan are provided below. FULL SPEECH: Internet is today- what maritime was in the past centuries- in …
Speech: Sharing Digital Technology Dividends & Bridging the Digital Divide Read More »
Updated Every Month To date, African countries have been able to secure just 121 million vaccine doses in order to minimise the effects of COVID-19. Of these, 72% have already been jabbed into arms, equating to just 1.8% of all vaccines administered globally – a far cry from the 1.3 billion doses ordered by African …
Over half of African citizens could have been protected by now Read More »
China-Kenya relations are at a critical stage as the two countries face enormous challenges related to debt sustainability, a severe trade imbalance, and the public health crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, Kenya remains a strategically vital country for China as a key hub on Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, an important gateway …
Q&A: Kenya’s Ambassador to China Reflects on the Current State of Ties With Beijing Read More »
Updated Every Month Over the last three months, we have consistently shared the data that so far, Africa has received less than 2% of global vaccines. We’ve had people share our data and graphics, and call out how inequitable this is, yet the figure has hardly changed. Why? Perhaps the fact that African countries still …
African countries *still* have less than 2% of global vaccines! Read More »
In January 2021, China finally published its White Paper on International Development Cooperation. I say finally because – having seen white papers on aid published in 2011 and 2014, some people at least had the expectation that the next in the series would be in 2017! Nevertheless, the 2021 paper generated considerable online buzz, especially …
Does China’s White Paper on Development Mean Anything for Africa? Read More »
Updated Every Month Nearly 1.33 billion vaccine doses have been ordered by African countries and the African Union – that’s enough to fully vaccinate half of the population, getting close to herd immunity levels, but as of early June, African countries have received only 1.5% of the world’s vaccines. While media has focused this month …
China has delivered more vaccines to Africa than COVAX, how? Read More »
After walking out of the COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Nairobi, with my arm slightly sore after receiving my first free dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, I felt hopeful that this reflected a new stage in Kenya’s COVID-19 response. However, a few weeks on, it has become clear that our vaccine rollout has not been smooth …
Better Late Than Never: Can China Help Kenya Break The 2% Vaccine Wall? Read More »
As the co-chair for the upcoming 2021 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Senegal is in a unique position to negotiate a better relationship with China as well as support other African countries to do so as well. At Development Reimagined, an African-led development consultancy in Beijing, we recently sat down with Mamadou Ndiaye, Senegal’s ambassador …
Q&A: Is China Really Delivering for Senegal In the Fight Against COVID-19? Read More »
Updated Every Month Ever since the development of COVID-19 vaccines began, much ado has been made about the acquisition and distribution of vaccines to vulnerable African populations. But as our monthly report demonstrates with alarming clarity, the reality is very different. This is not because of incompetent African governments. They, with the African Union, have …
Why have African countries administered only 1.5% of the world’s vaccines? Read More »
I still remember the day I arrived in the quiet city of Natitingou, North-West Benin, after the 7000-mile journey from my hometown in China. I was to be a translator in a Chinese medical team deployed to the local hospital. Over the 13 months I stayed in Natitingou, I witnessed first-hand the importance of health …
China’s Role in “Decolonizing” Healthcare in Africa Read More »
Notorious for its hyperinflation, and its status as the 10th most fragile country on the Fragile States Index, Zimbabwe is perhaps one of the last countries you would have expected to be proactive in vaccination rollout. Yet, not only was Zimbabwe one of the first African countries to receive COVID-19 vaccine donations but has secured a substantial …
How Can China Support Vaccine Deployment in Zimbabwe? Read More »
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharp relief the highly unsustainable fact that African countries together import over 70% of all pharmaceutical and medical products. Yet, 34 out of 55 African countries have some level of pharmaceutical production, with countries offering an array of incentives to encourage pharmaceutical investment. These opportunities have been available and well known …
Two types of images have dominated the global media’s coverage of Africa the past year. The first has been pictures of cargo planes packed with medical supplies, framing Africa’s COVID response as handled through foreign aid by partners such as China. The other image has been of Cameroonian virologist – Dr. John Nkengasong – making …
How Would Africa Have Managed COVID-19 Without the Africa CDC? The Role of China Read More »
Updated Every Month Nearly 1.7 billion vaccine doses have been ordered by African countries and the African Union, but as of early April, only 5.7% of these have arrived, and of those, only 37% have actually been administered. While many countries and international organisations continue to make general pledges of solidarity, the data suggests that …
Why have only 2 African countries vaccinated over 10% of their populations? Read More »
Updated Every Month 1 billion vaccine doses have been ordered by African countries and the African Union, but only 1.5% of these have been delivered so far. That’s not a headline you will read anywhere else. The news elsewhere is typically dominated either by photos of planes arriving with vaccines from COVAX or China, with …
African countries have received less than 2% of vaccines they’ve ordered Read More »
Updated Every Month As analysts focused on African countries, we often see narratives that underplay and imply skepticism of the capacity of Africans to respond to COVID19. Most of this is simply unwarranted. When you look at the data – for example this month’s new data on COVID19 response measures – there is little visible …
25 African countries don’t yet have vaccine orders – is this a problem or not? Read More »
Updated Every Month Last year, in 2020, we were the first to comprehensively track the impact of COVID19 across Africa with this regular infographics series. We not only published these week after week – a total 23 editions in both English and Chinese over the year – but by doing so also gathered unique data …
Which African countries will get COVID19 vaccines in 2021, and from where? Read More »
We have been tracking African governments actions since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and calculate that currently, African countries are spending around 2.5% of GDP to combat Covid-19’s impacts. While this is this is significantly below spending by other regions (for example the Asia Pacific region is spending 7% of GDP, and G20 countries …
Could debt relief by China have a sustained impact on Africa’s Covid-19 recovery? Read More »
Over the last two weeks, news of potential new vaccines to stop the spread of #COVID19 have dominated headlines. Moderna, Pfizer and Astra-Zeneca have all made press-releases about their effectiveness in trials. Chinese firms – such as Sinovac and Sinopharm – are also publicising their trial work to date. While these are limited, preliminary trials, …
Infographic: Can Africa be hopeful about a vaccine? Read More »
Updated Every Two Weeks This week, we saw a major dispute unfold between Zambia and private sector lenders, who rejected the government’s request for a 6 month payment holiday, due to Zambia’s needs to spend on COVID19 management. The private sector lenders rejected this request, and by doing so fuelled concerns that “Africa” would be …
This week, alongside our usual examination of COVID19 cases across Africa as well as support that other development partners are providing to African countries, we take an in-depth look at the recently published World Economic Outlook by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to delve into African countries’ performances both pre and post pandemic times and …
NOW Updated Every Two Weeks We believe there is an intrinsic relationship between the rigorous COVID19 testing done and the vaccine rollout. The ability to detect the number of active cases through testing will determine how extensive the vaccine rollout will be. Currently the African Union has a target of 20 million tests by November …
In order to mitigate the ongoing impact of COVID-19, it will be essential to reignite growth – in particular trade, finance and people flows to, from and between African countries. Much of these flows rely on increased infrastructure and connectivity, as well as local manufacturing, which is often provided by Chinese partners, either in the form of …
Chinese workers in Africa- What’s the real story? Read More »
NOW Updated Every Two Weeks As we analysed two weeks ago, the “good news” appearing from the continent in relation to COVID19 cases is continuing. Africa as a whole is making up a decreasing percentage of the world’s COVID19 cases at around 4.5%, and there are very few countries and regions seeing new significant rises. …
NOW Updated Every Two Weeks We’ve been taking a bit of a break from our infographics covering COVID19 developments in African countries, and as we resumed this week we noticed some “good news” appearing from the continent. For example, yesterday, the Ghanaian President announced that the country will allow international flights to resume from today. …
COVID19 in Africa: Is the crisis over? Or has it just begun? Read More »
Updated Weekly This week, African countries recorded more recoveries relative to the rest of the world than recorded new COVID19 cases. That said, Africa now, as a whole, makes up almost 5% of the world’s COVID19 cases. Over 6 days, Africa’s cases rose from 800,000 cases to their current level at almost 900,000 cases. Yes, …
COVID19 in Africa: Can early momentum be maintained? Read More »
Updated Weekly Do you want to know how your country is coping with COVID19? And how your African neighbours are coping in comparison? Is your government doing all it can to learn the best lessons and provide the best guidelines for citizens to live, while avoiding overwhelming health systems and unnecessary deaths? If so, you’ve …
Can African countries deal with COVID19 into the long-term? Read More »
Updated Weekly 84% of Africa’s #COVID19 cases have occurred – so far in just 10 countries. This is important. For the other 45 African countries, #COVID19 has been a huge economic shock, but it has not – at least so far – become overwhelming. Nevertheless, these 10 countries join the rest of the world in providing …
COVID19 in Africa: When can Africa reopen to the rest of the world? Read More »
Updated Weekly It’s been 5 months since the 1st COVID19 case was detected on the African continent. How are African countries coping? Our weekly update provides a great, unique snapshot of the progress so far and the challenges building up… So what are the headlines this week? Across the world and in Africa, COVID19 cases, …
It’s time to find new solutions to finance Africa’s COVID19 fight Read More »
Updated Weekly We have been tracking the spread of COVID19 in African countries for over 4 months now, soon after the first case was recorded in Egypt on 14th February 2020. We have also been tracking the response of African governments to the virus, both in terms of health and economy, as well as development …
As COVID-19 has ravaged the globe, governments have had to face the grim reality of overwhelmed medical systems. The impact has been morbid, with over 7 million confirmed cases and over 400,000 deaths worldwide. In the absence of therapeutics or a vaccine, alternative curatives are becoming increasingly popular, the most recent being traditional herbal medicines. …
Updated Weekly What is the latest update on #COVID19 cases and responses across #African countries? As usual, our weekly infographic is here to help you digest the key headlines quickly, with additional analysis to bring out information you won’t find collated anywhere else… at least until you see it here anyway! So what’s the unique …
Is more poverty in Africa an inevitable outcome of COVID19? Read More »
Updated Weekly This week could mark an important shift for African citizens health-wise. This week saw the African Union launch the African procurement platform, which is aimed at making sure African governments can get easier and faster access to the medical equipment they need from other countries across the globe and from each other. It …
Africa’s COVID19 Tests and Deaths: Why so different? Read More »
Updated Weekly There is one word this week that we have been hearing a great deal. Debt. Concerns are being expressed by many international development organisations about the potential for a debt crisis, especially given the World Bank’s gloomy update of its World Economic Prospects. This week, we decided to investigate the debt question a …
Updated Weekly Over the past few months, as we have scored through and collated the data from a huge number of sources, to share our weekly updates on what African countries are doing to tackle COVID19, we have noticed that many others writing on the same topic tend to see what is happening in very …
Success v failure: Is there one Africa COVID19 story? Read More »
Six months after the emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, the global effort to develop appropriate vaccines and treatments is continuing at a pace. The WHO report that there are now 125 candidate vaccines in development, including 10 in clinical evaluation. In recent weeks, there has been controversy around the need for trials of vaccinations …
COVID-19: How Can China Help African Countries Have a Stake in the Race for a Vaccine? Read More »
Updated Weekly Last week, our regular infographic update highlighted the actions and challenges African countries are facing in directly managing the COVID19 health crisis. This week, prompted by a concern that economic woes on the continent appear to be being blamed on “lockdowns” we wanted to check the facts on behalf of our clients, analysts …
Updated Weekly As world leaders meet virtually for the World Health Assembly this week, is it premature to be talking about winning the COVID19 fight? Over the past few months, as we have provided our weekly updates on what African countries are doing to tackle COVID19, we have noticed some positive trends, especially with respect …
Which African countries are winning the COVID19 fight, and how? Read More »
Updated Weekly It’s been close to three months since the first COVID19 case was detected on the African continent. Over those three months we have seen some fairly unprecedented changes in global markets – for instance negative oil prices – as well as many “typical” changes – such as certain African markets’ being downgraded by …
Are African countries getting enough support to deal with COVID19? Read More »
As COVID-19 spreads across the African continent, an African Union report has suggested that the outbreak could lead to a serious food security crisis in Africa, with as estimated 2.6% to 7% decline in agricultural production predicted for 2020. The FAO Director-General QU Dongyu has also issued a warning noting “quick, strategic action is needed …
Updated Weekly As part of our now regular series of infographics on how COVID19 is affecting the African continent, and how governments in the 55 countries are responding, this week we provide an update on what preventive measures African countries have put into place to “flatten the curve”. The last time we explored this question …
Are African countries easing lockdown too early? Read More »
Updated Weekly COVID19 first entered the African continent on 14th February 2020, and since then many African governments have been responding with both speed and determination. Last week, we explored what governments are doing to “flatten the COVID19 curve”. This week we return to the question of what African countries are doing to support their …
How much are African countries spending to help the poorest deal with COVID19? Read More »
Updated Weekly For the last two weeks we have been publishing infographics on how COVID19 is affecting the African continent, and how governments in the 55 countries are responding. Last week, we explored what measures are being introduced to support the economy and the poorest people in African countries. This week we return to the …
Are African countries flattening the COVID-19 curve? Read More »
Updated Weekly Last week, out of a frustration with the lack of coverage and understanding by our clients as well as the public on how COVID19 is affecting the African continent, we published an infographic that showed how the 55 countries in Africa are faring in terms of numbers and location of cases, as well …
How are African countries dealing with COVID-19’s economic impacts? Read More »
Updated Weekly Over the last few weeks, we have seen many think-tanks, consultancies and experts sharing information around COVID19 cases in Asia, Europe and the United States. But what about the African continent? How are the 55 countries in Africa faring? There is both good news and bad news… As part of Development Reimagined’s commitment …
How is COVID-19 affecting Africa? Our Analysis in Numbers Read More »
