Similarities Between COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS in Africa
Tags: Health, Covid 19, Coronavirus, Africa, HIV

Most governments in different parts of the world have recently forced a locked down in their nations to try and contain the deadly Coronavirus, which was first reported in China. This new pandemic has literally brought the world to a standstill as scientists work overtime to come up with a cure and vaccination. So far, China and Europe have the highest rate of fatalities with Italy and the U.S. currently getting the worst of the new cases rising. The virus has started spreading in Africa and scientists and most Africans are worried about the spread of the virus in the continent.

Presently, the virus has spread to 46 countries in the African continent with only 8 virus-free. There have already been over 1,400 confirmed cases, even as countries in the region impose a range of prevention and containment measures against the spread of the virus. Egypt currently has the highest number of infections in North Africa with more than 400 cases reported. The country suspended public and private transportation and imposed a night curfew. Air traffic as well as schools, universities, churches and mosques have been closed down. South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa has already initiated a lockdown as part of a raft of measures to curb the spread of the virus as cases in the country surge from 400 to 700 in a day. According to the WHO, Africa could be having unreported cases and the number of cases is expected to spike dramatically in the next few days.

The worrying factor is that most health systems in Africa are already weak; they lack the most basic services and are ill-equipped with handling a pandemic of such magnitude. The fragile health system is bound to be extremely overwhelmed if cases continue to rise. The number of ICU beds available across the region is highly limited, which also poses a huge challenge. The number of qualified facilities and doctors is also stretched thin already. Africa’s health system is not even in the slightest prepared to handle a large capacity of infected people. The only hope for Africa is to contain the virus as quickly and effectively as possible. If the virus takes hold, the consequences will be serious and fatal here.

Africa is still struggling with other infectious diseases such as Ebola and HIV/AIDS. It is the continent which has the greatest percentage of HIV/AIDS cases. If you look closely, there have been similarities between the HIV epidemic and Coronavirus pandemic in Africa. For starters, the inept government response which led to more cases of infection and stigmatization. Governments were quick to dismiss HIV/AIDS as a threat because it was assumed that it only affected LGBTQ+ people who supposedly “brought it upon themselves” or Africans who were sleeping with monkeys. This obviously is not true, the same way way most Africans assumed that the Coronavirus wouldn’t affect them because it was their ancestors punishing the other foreign countries for enslaving them. They assumed that melanin makes them immune to the Coronavirus, but unfortunately this was not the case.

Africa had a head start but most countries like Kenya refused to close down air traffic and continued to allow travelers from affected (foreign) countries into the country without enforcing a quarantine. This allowed people who were infected, but not symptomatic into the country and enabled the spread of the virus. If the African governments had taken serious precautions from the onset of the pandemic perhaps Africa could have been spared from this pandemic.

The spread of these viruses in a way are similar — it calls upon the community to first practice personal responsibility to curb the spread. During the early days of HIV/AIDS in Africa, the only prevention method was using condoms. Communities were sensitized on the importance of practicing safe sex and early detection. At the moment, most African countries are informing their citizens on the importance of washing hands and public surfaces constantly and practicing social distancing. In both cases, the community is tasked with the bigger job of curbing the spread of the virus. If one remains proactive then chances of infection reduce and this largely cuts down cases of infections. In both cases, governments have spared funds to educate the public and take the necessary precautions to prevent further infections. Coronavirus just like HIV/AIDS can also be contained faster with early detection. Early detection allows one to start medication immediately and be able to prevent spreading the virus to other people.

Coronavirus just like HIV/AIDS is not a death sentence. At first , HIV/AIDS was considered a death sentence and anyone who had it was stigmatized and declared an outcast. The fear and hysteria was palpable — there was a sense of dread and foreboding that the end was nigh. There was no cure and no one understood how it spread. Years later, there has been no cure but ARVs are helping many people live a normal, long, fulfilling lives. It is obvious that people are scared of Coronavirus and one has to only look at the anxiety being presently exhibited. People are fighting in the stores over hand sanitizers and toilet paper. There has been an assumption that once you get COVID-19, the next stage is death. Coronavirus has no cure or vaccination as of yet but luckily there have been cases of people fully recovering. Kenya has just reported its first survivor and the country is hopeful that all the 28 cases reported will soon fully recover.

Even though the two viruses are different medically, they seem to have social parallels. Africa has some tough days ahead while dealing with this global enemy but let us hope it will draw a few lessons from the past on how to best handle the situation. I believe the first thing it can do is find a way to stop the misinformation. Misinformation about COVID-19 is already confusing people. This confusion will be costly in the end as people refuse to heed advice to practice social distancing and upholding cleanliness. In the meantime, we continue to join the world on hoping to win this fight against this pandemic.