#FESAfricaCoronabrief - Dealing with the Pandemic in Africa

With more than 20 offices across sub-Sahara Africa and a wide network of partners FES is uniquely positioned to share insights from the ground and, if necessary, challenge mainstream perceptions or preconceived notions of “Africa” in the West, as we jointly attempt to understand the repercussions of this crisis and chart a way forward.

Where social distancing can’t work and digital alternatives for work are scarce Africans have to find their own means and measures to deal with the pandemic. On the one hand they have much more experience than developed countries in coping with the onslaught of infectious diseases. On the other hand they can only rarely rely on a functioning state with available financial resources for temporary compensation.

This blog series will inform about the current struggles in sub-Sahara Africa and discuss the fundamental changes they might induce. FES partners and local experts  – and some outside observers - will give you an almost daily glimpse into the inner workings of the continent. The effects of and the repercussions from the pandemic might change the structures of the economy, the political dispensations, the fabric of societies of and the geopolitical dynamics in Africa.

Through this blog the reader will be able to follow these disruptions and adaptions through the lens of FES partners, economists, journalists, social activists, environmentalists, gender experts, security analysts, artists and last but not least photographers who give voice and perspective to a diverse range of opinions and experiences as to how African societies are and should be dealing with the pandemic.