Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers and does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group.
African Union Member States (55) reporting COVID-19 cases (4,812,313), deaths (130,025) and recoveries (4,351,816) by region: Central (172,873 cases; 2,781 deaths; 159,001 recoveries): Burundi (4,650; 6; 4,198), Cameroon (77,982; 1,270; 72,926), CAR (7,085; 97; 6,665), Chad (4,927; 173; 4,742), Congo (11,658; 153; 10,591), DRC (31,386; 782; 27,654), Equatorial Guinea (8,476; 113; 8,146), Gabon (24,365; 150; 21,791), Sao Tome and Principe (2,344; 37; 2,288) Eastern (647,406; 12,678; 536,199): Comoros (3,949; 146; 3,719), Djibouti (11,523; 153; 11,354), Eritrea (4,022; 14; 3,812), Ethiopia (270,944; 4,139; 235,850), Kenya (170,041; 3,124; 116,018), Madagascar (41,184; 828; 40,028), Mauritius (1,356; 17; 1,181), Rwanda (26,878; 352; 25,542), Seychelles (11,145; 40; 9,936), Somalia (14,647; 768; 6,717), South Sudan (10,688; 115; 10,514), Sudan (35,289; 2,600; 27,949), Tanzania** (509; 21; 178), Uganda (45,231; 361; 43,401) Northern (1,453,109; 43,808; 1,276,107): Algeria (128,198; 3,586; 89,292), Egypt (259,540; 14,950; 190,254), Libya (184,815; 3,116; 171,279), Mauritania (19,407; 462; 18,377), Morocco (518,458; 9,135; 506,443), Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (739; 46; 691), Tunisia (341,952; 12,513; 299,771) Southern (2,066,519; 64,531; 1,933,721): Angola (33,607; 745; 27,529), Botswana (56,313; 831; 50,494), Eswatini (18,587; 672; 17,855), Lesotho (10,825; 326; 6,434), Malawi (34,323; 1,154; 32,598), Mozambique (70,697; 835; 69,232), Namibia (54,268; 807; 50,053), South Africa (1,654,551; 56,293; 1,551,520), Zambia (94,430; 1,275; 91,443), Zimbabwe (38,918; 1,593; 36,563) Western (472,406; 6,227; 446,788): Benin (8,058; 101; 7,893), Burkina Faso (13,424; 166; 13,248), Cabo Verde (30,122; 261; 28,163), Côte d&#39;Ivoire (47,195; 301; 46,591), Gambia (5,990; 178; 5,767), Ghana (93,775; 784; 91,853), Guinea (23,110; 161; 20,840), Guinea Bissau (3,760; 68; 3,511), Liberia (2,179; 86; 2,033), Mali (14,262; 516; 9,559), Niger (5,409; 192; 5,080), Nigeria (166,254; 2,071; 156,546), Senegal (41,296; 1,138; 39,932), Sierra Leone (4,140; 79; 3,128), Togo (13,432; 125; 12,644)Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
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Coronavirus: African Union Member States reporting COVID-19 cases as of 29 May 2021, 9 am EAT

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers and does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group.

Together with the Embassy of Senegal in Canada, The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business (www.Canada-Africa.ca) is honoured to welcome high-level leadership and Ministerial representation from Senegal and Canada, as the West African leader joins The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business.

At the inaugural forum, the Republic of Senegal will present its new economic policy. As one of Africa&#39;s most respected markets, Senegal’s economic growth has been among the highest in Africa: between 2014 and 2018, remaining above 6% annually. GDP growth was 5.3% in 2019.

&#39;It is a great privilege to welcome a nation that Canada regards as a reference for democratic governance and sustainable economic development, says Mr. Sebastian Spio-Garbrah, Chair of the Board of The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business: ‘Senegal&#39;s impressive growth averaging 6% for much of the past decade is reflection of unparalleled opportunities in this incredible market&#39;

&#39;Senegal and Canada enjoy a special relationship, showcased in Prime Minister Trudeau&#39;s first visit to Africa, joined by the Chair of the Board of The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business,’ explained Her Excellency, Ambassador Viviane Bampassy, representing Senegal in Canada: ‘The opportunities are immense. I am proud of Senegal&#39;s role as a leading commercial partner to Canada&#39;s trade diversification agenda.
Official Program: Tuesday 1 June 2021 at 11:00 ET / 07:00 PT / 15:00 Dakar
RSVP (https://bit.ly/3wz9Psv) or Learn More (https://bit.ly/3fOcdoj)
11:00 Call to Order (MC: Mr. Jacques NdoutouMvé)
11:01 Chair of the Board of The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business (Mr. Sebastian Spio-Garbrah) &#038; introduction of the Ambassador
11:05 Welcome Remarks: The Ambassador of Senegal, Her Excellency Viviane Bampassy
11:10 Government of Canada: Hon. Rachel Bendayan (MP), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade
11:20 Keynote Speaker: Senegal’s New Economic Policy Path by Minister Amadou HOTT
11:30 Panel on Senegal’s New Economic Policy Path
Moderator: Christian Azarian, Commercial Counsellor and Senior Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Canada in Senegal
Panelists
 	El Hadji Ibrahima Boutouthe Mané, Director of Cooperation, External Financing and Private Sector Development 	Evelyn Dioh SIMPA, Executive Director, WIC Capital 
12:05 Q&#038;A and deliberations begin
12:30 Formal Closing
See more and download the speaker biographies (https://bit.ly/3oWQJKn)
The event will include translation services and is followed by the Virtual Trade Mission to Senegal on 7 September 2021. Save the Date (https://bit.ly/3fqytpB) for this exciting trade mission by registering early (at no cost).
 Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business.
For more information: Garreth Bloor President
The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business Tel: +1.647.667.1223 Email: garreth@canadaafrica.ca
Manulife Building RTO 55 Bloor Street West, PO Box 19553 Toronto, Ontario M4W 3T9
Media files

Senegal’s New Economic Policy to be outlined in Canada

Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers and does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group.
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved on Friday a $125 million financing to support Senegal to improve the competitiveness of selected value chains, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) capabilities, and private sector investment in the country. This amount will finance the Government Program “Accelerate Competitiveness and Job Creation Program.”

According to Amadou Hott, Minister of the Economy, Planning, and Cooperation for Senegal, “the Senegal Jobs, Economic Transformation &#038; Recovery Project is in line with our Plan Senegal Emergent Priority Action Plan- Adjusted and Accelerated, an ambitious and realistic development program aiming to strengthen the competitiveness of the private sector, increase investment in strategic sectors, achieve economic reforms and improve infrastructure. It strengthens the Emergency Program for Socio-Economic Integration and Youth Employment.&#8221;
This project aims at supporting Senegal’s resilient economic recovery from COVID-19 by operationalizing the Jobs and Economic Transformation (JET) agenda. “Senegal has recently faced several challenges brought by the COVID crise. In this context, this project supports the creation of more and better jobs by improving private sector’s competitiveness and productivity, access to long term finance and investment, and more sustainable infrastructure”, said Nathan Belete, World Bank Country Director for Senegal.
The Senegalese economy has been impacted by COVID-19 through several channels.  According to Meriem Ait Ali Slimane, Laurent Gonnet, World Bank Project Task Team Leaders, “to stimulate economic recovery and build back better, it will be important to strengthen the competitiveness of key sectors, with a focus on exports, improve MSMEs productivity and technology adoption, and introduce performant financing mechanisms such as partial credit guarantees and public-private equity funds.”
The program will support both small informal firms and more formal SMEs through dedicated channels such as partial credit guarantee scheme (through FONGIP) access to long term finance (through FONSIS), and matching grants for technology adoption and productivity upgrading (through ADEPME) as well as value chain-level competitiveness reinforcements (led by the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Cooperation), inclusive of all types and sizes of firms participating in the value chains.
The Senegal JET project will support increased exports, and MSMEs’ productivity and technology Adoption. The project will have a particular focus on access to finance, in the form of loan guarantees and equity, with targets for women-led businesses.
 Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The World Bank Group.

Support for Economic Post-Covid Recovery Through the Competitiveness of Senegalese Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

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As Africa works towards a more inclusive recovery from the pandemic, a new report from the government of Senegal in partnership with the United Nation&#8217;s Better Than Cash Alliance, the World Bank and the National Agency for Statistics suggests that there is a correlation between combining the digitalisation of workers payments with health insurance benefits, social inclusion and financial innovation. Jean Pascal Mvondo, Regional Lead for Francophone Africa and the Middle East of the United Nation&#8217;s Better Than Cash Alliance, joins CNBC Africa for more.

How digital wage payments can deepen social inclusion

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Lamine Lo, the Director of Finance and PPP’s at Senegal’s Ministry of Economy, Finance and International Cooperation joins

COVID-19: How the pandemic impacts the structuring of PPPs for infrastructure projects

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Following his re-election with a hundred per cent votes Akinwumi Adesina will now serve as President of the African Development Bank for another five years. Amadou Hott, a Governor of the African Development Bank Representing Senegal joins CNBC Africa’s Kenneth Igbomor to discuss what next five years in office will mean for Africa&#8217;s development.

#AfDBAM2020: What Adesina’s re-election means for the next phase of Africa’s development

BANJUL (Reuters) &#8211; Gambia, mainland Africa’s smallest country, imposed a three-week curfew on Wednesday after coronavirus cases surged over 60% in the last seven days to nearly 800.



Authorities attributed the rise to people relaxing their guard on protective measures that had so far kept Gambia’s case total the lowest in Africa. Testing has also increased in the country, where the number of deaths is 16.



A 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew will go into effect on Thursday, public gatherings will be banned and markets will have to close by 2 p.m., government spokesman Ebrima Sankareh told the national broadcaster.



He had said earlier in the day that authorities would increase police, paramilitary, marine and immigration presence on its border with Senegal as scores of Senegalese who live in Gambia return from celebrating Eid al-Adha with their wider families. Senegal has recorded over 10,500 cases.



The minister for women’s affairs, children and social welfare, Fatou Kinteh, tested positive on Wednesday for COVID-19, becoming the fourth minister to do so this week.



Vice President Isatou Touray also tested positive on July 29, leading President Adama Barrow to enter self-isolation. The government said on Tuesday the president had tested negative.



The Health Ministry said six people who were confirmed cases were still at large, while two other positive cases had fled from a treatment centre in the capital

Clarification on COVID-19 “hotspots” as SA moves to level 3 lockdown

Gambia imposes curfew as coronavirus cases surge 60% in a week

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West African leaders have begun a virtual extraordinary summit to negotiate an end to the deepening political crisis in Mali. This comes after presidents from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana and Niger held talks on Thursday last week that ended in a stalemate. Onyekachi Adekoya, Managing Director of PR24 Nigeria joins CNBC Africa for more.

ECOWAS holds extraordinary summit on Mali’s political crisis

DAKAR (Reuters) &#8211; Senegal’s Goree Island, which for centuries served as a way station in the Transatlantic slave trade, has changed the name of its Europe Square in response to the death of George Floyd in the United States and the global movement it inspired.A general view of Goree Island is seen off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, July 8, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra



It will now be known as Freedom and Human Dignity Square, the municipal council decided.



The palm tree-lined Europe Square, in the shadow of an old French fort at the island’s northern tip, was given its name in 1998 in recognition of European funding for renovations at the World Heritage Site.



But some residents thought the name was nevertheless inappropriate.



“The name Europe Square was, in a way, a symbol of friendship between peoples,” said Doudou Dia, president of the island’s tourism commission.



“But we also said to ourselves&#8230;that in another sense it is celebrating the persecutor,” he said. “What happened to George Floyd was the final straw.”



Lying off the Senegalese capital Dakar, Goree was a transit point over several centuries for enslaved Africans being shipped to the Americas. UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site in 1978.



These days, it is a popular tourist attraction with its cobblestoned streets and historic houses. It is known primarily for its House of Slaves, which several U.S. presidents, Nelson Mandela and Pope John Paul II have all visited.



Alassane Niang, a chef from Goree, said the move &#8211; which comes as governments around the world consider changing street names and bringing down public monuments associated with racism &#8211; was long overdue.



“For me, it could even be Africans Square. That would be better because the majority who live here are Black,” he said. “The Senegalese &#8211; Africans &#8211; deserve the square.”

Africans singled out in southern China sparks diplomatic backlash

Senegal slave island, moved by George Floyd’s death, renames Europe Square

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Ratings agency Fitch has revised the outlook on Kenya’s B+ sovereign ratings to negative from stable, while affirming the rating. And the Financial Times reported that Senegal President Macky Sall, in an interview, disclosed that oil and gas projects in the country could be delayed by up to two years due to COVID-19. Ridle Markus, Africa Strategist, Absa Corporate and Investment Banking joins CNBC Africa for more.

Fitch revises Kenya’s B+ rating to negative from stable

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Amadou Hott, Senegal’s Minister for Economy, Planning and International Cooperation joins CNBC Africa to discuss how the country is responding to the Covid-19 shock.

Amadou Hott on how Senegal is responding to the COVID-19 shock

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The International Monetary Fund has approved the payment of funds to a number of African countries such as Ghana, Senegal and Mozambique, under the Rapid Credit Facility which is set to help countries deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ridle Markus, Africa Strategist at ABSA Corporate and Investment Banking joins CNBC Africa for more.

IMF approves funds to Ghana

IMF approves funds to Ghana, Senegal & Mozambique to fight COVID-19

Officials warn that although governments were trying to be
transparent and do the right thing, some slipped through the net.



By Chris Bishop



COVID-19 cases are occurring at the rate of 300-a-day in
sub-Saharan Africa and there are likely to be many more that the authorities
are missing, a World Health Organisation briefing on the continent admitted
Thursday. The good news is that experts are hard at work on creating a vaccine,
but this may take more than a year.



The WHO is working with governments across Africa to contain
the disease as it threatens to spread rapidly throughout the continent. Rwanda
and Angola have gone on lockdown in the last week and South Africa will follow
suit a midnight Thursday when businesses and shops – except those selling food
and medicine – will close across the country.&nbsp; 



The webinar briefing, moderated by the World Economic Forum
from Geneva, heard that a month ago just one country in Sub-Saharan Africa
reported an infection; just two weeks ago it was 10 and in the last three days
40 Sub-Saharan Africa countries said they had cases of COVID-19.&nbsp;&nbsp; 



“We have still a window, true it is narrowing every day, to
contain this disease. In half of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa we still
have imported cases and we have identified that local spread is not
happening…We could contain this virus in many countries. What we are seeing is
draconian measures being put in place, like closing down places and stopping
flights, but these need to be following up by checking on people in quarantine
and making sure there is social distancing. We still have the opportunity to
stop it in some countries,” says Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director
for Africa, from her headquarters in Congo Brazzaville.&nbsp; 



South African born Moeti, a citizen of Botswana, said there
was strong political will to fight the outbreak with countries in Africa
ramping up their defences. When the first case was reported in Africa, she
said, only Senegal and South Africa had the laboratories to diagnose the
disease; now 40 countries had the wherewithal.



WHO officials also admitted, under questions from
journalists on the webinar, that small countries and island nations in
Sub-Saharan Africa were most at risk, along with countries suffering conflict
and population displacements, because their resources were thin. 



Officials also said that conditions in some parts of Africa
– where 50 or 60 people could be living the same property were not conducive to
the social distancing that is being seen as a main plank in the strategy to
fight the disease.



“I think this is something we will continue to think through
there is no easy answer to it. We have to think through the issue of our own
cultural leanings…This is something in which we have to work closely with our
community,” says Dr John Nkengasong, the director of the African Centres for
Disease Control for WHO.



Officials also admitted, when asked whether cases were being
underreported in Africa, that although governments were trying to be
transparent and do the right thing, some slipped through the net.



“There are cases out there that we don’t know,” admitted one
official.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 



Scores of experts were working on a vaccine for COVID-19,
but it was likely to take a year to 18 months to perfect one for the market.



For now, quarantine and keep your distance.



For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a>

International travel for South Africans is now allowed, this is how it will work

WHO: Sub-Saharan Africa reporting at least 300 COVID-19 cases a day

(Reuters) &#8211; The World Health Organization has warned of the risk that COVID-19 could overwhelm strained public health systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Here is a selection of measures countries are taking to prepare for the virus and limit its spread.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">SOUTH AFRICA </h3>



With more cases than any other country in sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa is barring entry to foreign travellers&nbsp;coming from or transiting through&nbsp;high-risk countries including Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom and China, according to an advisory issue by the foreign ministry on Tuesday. 



Travellers who arrived from these countries since mid-February must report for testing. Those arriving from medium-risk countries – Portugal, Hong Kong and Singapore – will undergo high intensity screening. 



South Africans are advised to cancel or postpone all non-essential foreign travel.&nbsp;The government has also ordered schools to close early for the Easter break and will prohibit gatherings of more than 100 people. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">NIGERIA </h3>



Africa’s most populous nation has stepped up surveillance and is preparing for the possibility of an influx of patients. 



Lagos, the biggest city with some 20 million people, could handle 2,000 cases, said Bamidele Mutiu, who heads a regional biosafety team. To do this, they would need to use two camps previously housing people displaced by violence, he said. 



Authorities are checking the temperature of anyone who arrives at Nigeria’s airports, ports and land borders. 



Those coming from high-risk countries such as China, Iran, Italy and Spain are asked to self-isolate for 14 days, said Tarik Mohammed, a technical advisor at the Niger Centre for Disease Control. If they develop symptoms, a laboratory team will visit them and collect a sample for testing. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">KENYA </h3>



The East African country is suspending travel from any nation with reported COVID-19 cases. 



Only Kenyan citizens, foreigners with residence permits and United Nations workers will be allowed to come in, provided they proceed on self-quarantine, the government said this week. 



Schools and universities are closing, and public minibuses are providing hand sanitizer. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">ETHIOPIA </h3>



Ethiopian Airlines said on its website that medics stationed at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, a key regional transit hub, carry out continuous health screenings 24/7. 



The government in the Horn of Africa country has closed schools nationwide and offered to transport people on government buses to ease congestion on public transport. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">RWANDA </h3>



The East African country is flooding its capital, Kigali, with portable sinks for hand-washing at bus stops, restaurants, banks and shops. Schools, universities, churches and courts are closed nationwide. Some flights are suspended. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CAMEROON </h3>



From Wednesday, Cameroon, in central Africa, will close land, air and sea borders indefinitely, the government said in statement on Tuesday. International flights will be grounded, with the exception of cargo planes. Schools and restaurants will shut, and gatherings of more than 50 people are banned. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">LIBERIA </h3>



The West African country is applying lessons learned fighting a devastating Ebola outbreak in 2014-15. 



“We were one of the first countries to start enhanced screening at the airport on Jan. 25,” said&nbsp;Mosoka P. Fallah, acting director general of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia. 



More than 200 people have been trained as field epidemiologists and check for diseases in all 90 districts, said Tolbert Nyenswah, senior research associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the United States and former incident manager for Liberia’s Ebola response. 



“If there is a case of a suspected disease, a sample is sent to a lab and tested.” 



There are hand-washing stations at public places including stores, shops, schools, hospitals, restaurant and government offices. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">SENEGAL </h3>



Has been taking all passengers’ temperatures since Jan. 28 and asks for contact details, so officials can reach them if someone else on the plane tests positive, a spokesman for Dakar airport said. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">GHANA </h3>



Has implemented some of the most stringent measures in West Africa with a mandatory 14 days of quarantine for all people arriving from abroad. Travelers from countries with over 200 cases of coronavirus are barred from entering the country unless they are Ghanaian citizens or residents.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">MAURITANIA </h3>



After confirming its first case on March 13, the West African country closed the international airport, suspended teaching in schools and universities, and banned weekly markets. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">MADAGASCAR </h3>



One of the world’s poorest countries, the island nation has suspended all flights for 30 days, a blow to its tourism industry. 



(Reporting by Africa bureaux)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN2150U6-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN2150U6-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.

FACTBOX: What Africa is doing to fight coronavirus

Report by Josiane Kouagheu, Juliette Jabkhiro and Aaron Ross



YAOUNDE/DAKAR (Reuters) &#8211; When a passenger arriving from Brussels at Cameroon’s Yaounde Nsimalen airport on Saturday was found to have a temperature, health officials say he was whisked to a hospital and diagnosed inside four hours as the country’s fourth case of coronavirus.



The central African country was doing more generalised screening for disease long before China revealed the new virus that has killed around 7,000 people globally. Along with other countries on the continent, it hopes its experience guarding against Ebola and other epidemics will help its health system cope with a pandemic that could quickly overwhelm it. 



“We have cases that were not caught by the measures in France and Italy that were caught here,” Georges Alain Etoundi Mballa, who runs the health ministry’s epidemic response, told Reuters, describing the screening as a “spying network”. 



“Epidemics come and go, but we keep on the surveillance.” 



The virus now ravaging Europe has appeared in at least 26 out of 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In most of them the recorded cases are still in single figures and have come in from abroad &#8211; notably Europe &#8211; rather than emerging at home. [nL8N2BA5PT] 



The stakes are high &#8211; if the disease gets into Africa’s poorest areas, squalid, cramped conditions could cause it to spread at lightning speed. 



Hospitals are already overburdened with cases of measles, malaria and other deadly infectious diseases, and conflicts have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed infrastructure. 



Asking patients to self-quarantine at home is not practical in many areas, where families cram into a single room, share a communal tap or latrine, and survive on daily earnings. 



“Africa should brace itself for a serious challenge,” John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on March 11. “I still believe containment is possible, but only with extensive testing and surveillance.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">EBOLA EXPERIENCE </h3>



In some places that looks all but impossible. 



In South Sudan, devastated by a five-year civil war, the government has just 24 isolation beds, said Dr. Angok Gordon Kuol,&nbsp;incident manager for the outbreak at the Ministry of Health. 



He said public officials were trying to encourage hand-washing, but many in the impoverished East African nation of 12 million people could not afford soap and did not have running water. 



The health ministry in Burkina Faso, which is under siege from jihadist groups linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda, said in a report last week that the country lacked the resources to deal with the outbreak. 



Its border crossings have no sites to isolate suspected cases, and the West African country does not have enough skilled health workers, the report said. “This can result in high mortality rates and an increased risk of spreading the disease.” 



Ebola killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa between 2013 and 2016, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. It devastated communities but provided valuable lessons. 



The Africa CDC, set up by the African Union in 2017, has been working with the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen emergency coordination, improve testing and surveillance, and equip treatment centres. 



“We know the fragility of our system, and because of that, when the outbreak was declared, the countries just went into action,” said Mary Stephen, technical officer at the WHO’s Africa office. 



The number of countries with labs able to diagnose COVID-19 in the region increased from two to 39 in just over a month. But that still leaves eight countries without. 



Passengers arriving at major airports have temperatures checked and are asked to fill out travel questionnaires, and in Nigeria, a taskforce meets regularly to evaluate the risks. 



“We will never be caught pants down,” said Bamidele Mutiu, who helped coordinate the West African country’s Ebola response and now runs a biosafety lab in Lagos. 



With three confirmed cases, Africa’s most populous nation is scrambling to increase the number of isolation beds and provide more specialized medical training and equipment at state hospitals. 



“Our health system is not as strong as we’d like it to be,” said Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. “It is because we are a bit worried about our capacity to deal with a large outbreak that we are focused so intensively on prevention and early detection.” 



Promoting good hygiene is a key part of that effort. But that is easier said than done. Less than half the population in 34 African countries have basic hand-washing facilities in their homes, according to a 2017 United Nations survey. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">KEEPING CLEAN </h3>



In Senegal’s capital Dakar, announcements ring out through loudspeakers on passing cars urging people to wash their hands. A group of school children in soccer shirts reels off highlights from a recent lesson &#8211; a crash course in preventing COVID-19. 



But in their suburb, Pikine, where more than a million people live, the water is frequently cut off. 



“Cleanliness is important, but here it’s not easy,” said Marcelle Diatta, a 41-year-old mother of four who lives in a two-bedroom apartment with four extended family members. 



Khary Faye Sougou, head nurse at a local health centre in Pikine, where donkey carts jostle with delivery trucks on sandy alleyways, said she was encouraging residents to stockpile bottles of water; but not everyone could afford to do so. 



In Senegal, a West African country that has recorded 27 cases, medical staff said they had received limited protective equipment beyond extra gloves and masks. 



“If we have a case, maybe I’ll go with a mask and my white coat, and after the visit I’ll throw them away,” Sougou said. 



Ousmane Gueye, head of the crisis unit at Senegal’s health ministry, said the government was deploying protective gear to facilities that need it. 



There are ample stocks of masks and gloves and enough beds to accommodate dozens more patients, according to health officials. However, there are no reserves of ventilators, which are in short supply across Africa. 



In South Africa, which has recorded 62 cases of the virus, medical services could be “swamped” if it spreads within the country’s vast shanty towns, Susan Cleary, a health economist at the University of Cape Town, said. 



“Transmission in an informal settlement is a disaster, an absolute disaster,” she said. 



(Additional reporting by Christophe Van der Perre in Dakar, Alexis Akwagyiram and Angela Ukomadu in Lagos, Paul Carsten in Abuja, Omar Mohammed in Nairobi, Giulia Paravicini in Addis Ababa, Wendell Roelf in Cape Town, Joe Bavier in Abidjan and Henry Wilkins in Ouagadougou; Writing by Aaron Ross; editing by Edward McAllister, Alexandra Zavis and Philippa Fletcher)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN214328-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN214328-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.

Armed with lessons from Ebola, Africa braces for coronavirus surge

NAIROBI/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) &#8211; More African nations confirmed their first cases of the coronavirus and shut borders amid fears of the disease’s impact on fragile health systems, as Chinese billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma pledged to donate over 1 million testing kits to the continent.



Thirty African countries &#8211; more than half the continent &#8211; are now treating nearly 400 patients with coronavirus, after Tanzania, Liberia, Benin and Somalia said they registered their first cases. 



Africa had until recently been spared the rapid spread of COVID-19, which has infected at least 180,000 people worldwide and caused over 7,000 deaths. But health experts are concerned the continent’s often dilapidated health infrastructure will struggle to cope as cases mount. 



“We cannot ignore the potential risk to Africa and assume this continent of 1.3 billion people will blissfully escape the crisis. The world cannot afford the unthinkable consequences of a COVID-19 pandemic in Africa,” Ma’s foundation said in a statement. 



The foundation will send 1.1	million testing kits, 6 million masks and 60,000 protective suits and face shields to Ethiopia for distribution to Africa’s 54 nations, it said. 



Earlier on Monday, the World Bank said it had committed $60 million to Kenya to help the East African nation battle the outbreak. 



Some countries on the continent, such as conflict-hit Somalia, depend on donors to support basic public health facilities. 



Somalian Health Minister Fawziya Abikar Nur said the ministry had quarantined and tested four Somalis who came from China last week, and one had tested positive for the respiratory disease. International flights to Somalia were suspended for two weeks, the aviation minister said. 



In West Africa, the small and impoverished nation of Liberia announced its first case. Liberia was devastated by a 2014 Ebola epidemic that killed 4,000 people, and its healthcare system has remained underfunded despite promises of investment. 



Benin, considered a relatively stable democracy in the turbulent West African region, also announced its first case. The Health Ministry said the Beninois national was being held in an isolation ward in the capital after returning from Belgium and Burkina Faso on March 11. 



The Health Ministry in the East African nation of Tanzania also confirmed its first case, a Tanzanian woman who had travelled to Denmark, Sweden and Belgium. She had her temperature taken at the airport but had no fever and was allowed to pass, but later felt unwell at her hotel, the ministry said. [L8N2B913C] 



Also on Monday, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Senegal and Cameroon all reported more cases and South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said his nation, which has 62 cases so far, may need to raid other government departments for funds to fight the disease. He did not provide any figures. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CRACKDOWN AS BORDERS CLOSE </h3>



Many African nations, including some without reported cases, have ordered tougher control measures, including bans on public gatherings, halting flights and closing schools and universities. 



In northern Africa, Tunisia said it would suspend international flights and close its land border in an effort to contain the spread of the virus. 



Botswana, in southern Africa, said on Monday it would bar entry to travellers from 18 high-risk countries, including China, Britain, the United States, Iran, France and Italy. 



In West Africa, Senegal said it would suspend flights to and from France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Portugal, as well as Tunisia and Algeria, for a period of 30 days. 



Ivory Coast said it would bar entry to travellers from countries with over 100 cases, although Ivorian citizens and residents would be allowed to return if they went into quarantine for 14 days. It also closed schools, nightclubs and cinemas and banned gatherings of over 50 people, according to a national security council statement. 



Ethiopia, Africa’s second-largest nation, joined the growing list of countries that closed schools for two weeks, suspended all large gatherings and cancelled all sports events, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office said. 



Government buses will give people free rides to curb overcrowding in the public transport system, a statement said. 



In Central Africa, Congo Republic said it would suspend all flights from high-risk countries from Thursday. Neighbouring Gabon reduced the number of flights from abroad to one a week per airline and ordered restaurants to close, barring takeout and delivery. 



Nigeria’s Health Ministry said the country, Africa’s most populous, had strengthened contact tracing, stockpiled reagents used in test kits and increased testing capacity. 



Also on Monday, Kenyan police raided a clinic alleged to be selling fake coronavirus testing kits. Police detained staff and locked the facility, witnesses told Reuters journalists at the scene, after it had been advertising testing kits online. 



(Reporting by Giulia Paraviciniin Addis Ababa, Adbi Sheikh in Mogadishu, Omar Mohammed, Baz Ratner and David Lewis in Nairobi, Juliette Jabkhiro in Dakar, Clement Uwiringiyiman in Kigali; Olivia Kumwenda in Johannesburg and Elias Biryabarema in Kampala; Diadie Ba in Dakar; Christian Elion in Brazzaville; Loucoumane Coulibaly in Abidjan; Gerauds Wilfried Obangome in Libreville; Writing by George Obulutsa, Katharine Houreld and Alessandra Prentice; Editing by William Maclean, Steve Orlofsky and Peter Cooney)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN214194-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN214194-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.

More African countries confirm first coronavirus cases as Jack Ma pledges aid

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Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia and now SA &#8211; the corononavirus is making inroads on the continent. CNBC Africa spoke to a SA athlete with hopes of taking part at this year’s Olympics in Japan about the impact of COVID-19.

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