Cartoon | Not out of the woods

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a public health emergency. The declaration came just a few months after the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was first identified in China.

During this period the COVID-19 pandemic has affected and altered lives across the world and the African continent has not been spared from the unforgiving effects of undoubtedly the most significant global public health emergency in recent history.

There have been over 433 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including over 6 million deaths, according  to the World Health Organization. 

While some countries appear to be past the worst, the impact of the pandemic on the lives and daily realities of African citizens has been serious and new variants are still a threat — which underlines the fact that the current pandemic is far from over.