At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone was in fear of how the outbreak would impact developing countries. Because of bad health systems and unhygienic living conditions in those countries, it seemed like the Corona Virus would spread fast and have no mercy for the people living there. But now after almost 10 months since the big outbreak in march in Europe, the developing countries are dealing with the virus much better than expected. How is it possible?
First, we have to understand what a developing country is. A developing country is a country where there is a lot of poverty, hunger, and a low level of education. These countries have a rather young population and people living there don’t get as old as people in industrialized countries. This is mostly due to bad health systems in developing countries. Most of the developing countries are in Asia or Africa.
It seems like the developing countries have the best conditions for COVID-19 to spread but still those countries have the least cases in the world. Africa has less than 4% of infections and deaths of the global total even though 1,3 Billion people are living in Africa. One reason for the small number of cases and deaths is the young population in developing countries. If young people get infected with the virus, they mostly suffer only mild symptoms or the infection goes unnoticed. However, this is not the only reason why there are not as many cases in developing countries as there are in industrialized countries.
The main reason is that developing countries, in Africa, for example, have experience in dealing with diseases and epidemics such as the Ebola outbreak in 2014. They are even handling other diseases alongside COVID-19 such as yellow fever, cholera, measles, and many more. By responding earlier and more forcefully by closing borders and early testing for COVID-19 some developing countries could combat the virus very quickly. Some countries, for example, Mauritius, began screening airport arrivals and quarantining visitors from high-risk countries before their first case was even detected.
Another reason why developing countries are dealing so well with COVID-19 is because of their good cooperation with other nations. In Africa, they have the so called African Medical Supplies Platform, where they share medical supplies all over the continent. In Europe, there is a similar platform but it did not work in Europe because of bureaucratic challenges.
Even though the developing countries handled the virus very well so far, they are afraid of the second wave that has already hit Europe and North America.
Moreover are the people in developing countries still affected by COVID-19. Not of the virus directly but of its consequences on the economy.
Because of harsh lockdowns, people can’t go to work and children can’t go to school. Even if the possibility of working from home or online classes are provided, people cannot take part because of bad internet connections. Many people lose their job and therefore their homes and they can’t fulfill basic needs such as providing food and water, medical supplies, or even medical care.
Even if people from developing countries are not dying because of COVID-19, they might die because of its consequences.
It seems like the developing countries have the best conditions for COVID-19 to spread but still those countries have the least cases in the world. Africa has less than 4% of infections and deaths of the global total even though 1,3 Billion people are living in Africa. One reason for the small number of cases and deaths is the young population in developing countries. If young people get infected with the virus, they mostly suffer only mild symptoms or the infection goes unnoticed. However, this is not the only reason why there are not as many cases in developing countries as there are in industrialized countries.
The main reason is that developing countries, in Africa, for example, have experience in dealing with diseases and epidemics such as the Ebola outbreak in 2014. They are even handling other diseases alongside COVID-19 such as yellow fever, cholera, measles, and many more. By responding earlier and more forcefully by closing borders and early testing for COVID-19 some developing countries could combat the virus very quickly. Some countries, for example, Mauritius, began screening airport arrivals and quarantining visitors from high-risk countries before their first case was even detected.
Another reason why developing countries are dealing so well with COVID-19 is because of their good cooperation with other nations. In Africa, they have the so called African Medical Supplies Platform, where they share medical supplies all over the continent. In Europe, there is a similar platform but it did not work in Europe because of bureaucratic challenges.
Even though the developing countries handled the virus very well so far, they are afraid of the second wave that has already hit Europe and North America.
Moreover are the people in developing countries still affected by COVID-19. Not of the virus directly but of its consequences on the economy.
Because of harsh lockdowns, people can’t go to work and children can’t go to school. Even if the possibility of working from home or online classes are provided, people cannot take part because of bad internet connections. Many people lose their job and therefore their homes and they can’t fulfill basic needs such as providing food and water, medical supplies, or even medical care.
Even if people from developing countries are not dying because of COVID-19, they might die because of its consequences.
Melissa Mussa
German volunteer in Mediart Project in Praxis organization.
