Abstract

As of April 27, 2020, 2 973 264 cases and 206 569 deaths due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had been reported worldwide. Africa was initially less affected, but the epidemiological situation has changed rapidly in the past few weeks, and the pandemic has spread almost to the whole continent in a very short time, leaving only Comoros and Lesotho with no reported cases to date. There have been more than 32 000 confirmed cases and 1425 deaths, notably in South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria, respectively, countries with more than 3500 cases.

The rapid growth of the outbreak in Africa is a major health threat in the coming weeks and months, considering the weakness of the public health ecosystem and the high prevalence of HIV, malaria, malnutrition, and other comorbidities in many of the affected countries.¹ Experiences learned in Italy, Spain, Iran, and China are extremely valuable; nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic would have a different impact on African countries, because the continent’s demographic structure and health system constraints are different from other regions that have experienced COVID-19 earlier.

The young age of the African population can be considered as a protective factor, because the median age of the 1.3 billion population is 19.7 years, which would limit the aged population exposed to severe and potentially fatal forms. Nevertheless, this argument is offset by the poor capacity to provide intensive care for a large number of patients.