Briefing on the spread, control and implications of COVID-19
Amani Africa
Date | 06 May, 2020
Tomorrow (6 May) the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) is expected to have a VTC briefing on the spread, control and implications of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 in Africa. It is expected that the Director of Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) John Nkengasong will give the main briefing.
It is to be recalled that during its 918th session dedicated to the impact of the pandemic on the peace and security of the continent the PSC has requested the Africa CDC to continue providing regular briefings on COVID19. Subsequently, the PSC also received a briefing on the humanitarian impact of COVID19 with a focus on the situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from the Commissioner of Political Affairs.
In tomorrow’s briefing, it is envisioned that Africa CDC will present an overview of the current situation across Africa including the spread of the virus, what the trend in the spread of the virus tells us and where Africa stands in terms of reaching the peak. Since the first confirmed case was reported in Egypt on 14 February, the spread of the virus over the course of March and April has covered all parts of the continent. The spread of the virus has skyrocketed by many folds.
According to the Africa CDC daily tracking of the spread of the virus, as at 5 May, 53 AU member states have reported 47,118 confirmed cases of COVID19 and 1843 deaths and 15,587 recoveries. Despite the fact that the continuing accelerated rise in the spread of the virus, Africa CDC expresses concern that the number of confirmed cases does not tell us the full story. As Nkengasong pointed out to the medical publication Nature, ‘the count is likely to be an underestimate; Ethiopia has run about 11,000 tests – only 10 for every 100,000 people’. During the press briefing late last week, he also noted that testing in Africa is very limited, noting that with 1.3 billion people the continent has so far tested less than 500,000 people, which is less than 500 per million.
All indications are that the real picture of the spread of the virus remains unknown. This means that it is not clear if the worst in the spread of the virus in Africa has already passed. Indeed, the expectation is that Africa has yet to reach the peak in the spread of the virus.
While underscoring the imperative for scaling up testing, it is expected that Nkengasong will inform the PSC the various factors hampering testing on the continent. He has already pointed out that ‘lack of access to diagnostics is Africa’s Achilles heel.’ Despite the increase in the capacity of African countries to test, appropriate regents for testing are not available on the market. The tragedy is that while African countries have the funds to pay for regents, they cannot however buy them. This is not only on account of the disruption of the supply chains but also restrictions that countries adopted on the export of medical goods and the race by the powerful to acquire whatever COVID19 tests are available.
Moreover, in addition to diagnostics the briefing may also highlight the tools and resources needed for prevention and management of the pandemic including personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and other respiratory equipment.
It is expected that the briefing will also give update on ongoing efforts by the Centre in line with the implementation of the Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID19 Outbreak. On 21 April, Africa CDC has launched the Partnership to Accelerate COVID19 Testing (PACT): Trace, Test & Track (CDC-T3), among other issues to support for the testing of one million Africans in 10 weeks, support for the deployment of one million community healthcare workers to support contact tracing and coordination of medical equipment distribution. As part of these ongoing efforts towards scaling up the continental testing capacity, the AU has established a COVID-19 Diagnostic Laboratory in the AU PANVAC in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. This initiative is also important in supporting and speeding up the production of test kits within Africa.
Given the nature of the pandemic, enhancing the coordination of response at national and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) level is critical for the effectiveness of the response. Particularly establishing continues information and data sharing as well as transparency will enable policy makers to identify patterns across countries and regions.
Also important for Africa is the effort for pulling resources together and source the necessary supplies for enhancing the capacity of the continent in fighting COVID19 at the level of the AU through Africa CDC. According to Nkengasong this would allow African countries to negotiate as one large customer, rather than as many small buyers fighting for a seat at the table.
On 29 April the Bureau of the Assembly held its third virtual meeting on the continental response on COVID19. The Bureau met with representatives of RECs. The discussion focused on the level of infection and on the spread at the regional level. The data from Africa CDC shows that Norther region with 17,700 cases is the region with the highest number of cases, followed by West Africa with 13,000 cases. The Bureau and representatives of RECs reiterated support to the efforts of Africa CDC particularly in relation to increasing testing capacity to ensure that in the next four months 10 million tests are undertaken through AU PACT initiative. Moreover, the Heads of State and Government endorsed the call for debt cancellation and the development of relief packages.
The other point, which the PSC may also address, is around measures taken by government to contain the virus particularly around imposition of lockdowns and restriction of movement. In this regard the increased use of excessive force by security officers has been a concerning trend. In many cases the pandemic is being used as a pretext to enforce repression on individuals and communities. The PSC may urge member states to observe established human rights standards when applying measures to contain COVID19.
The Africa CDC, in line with the guidelines shared by the World Health Organization (WHO) has been continuously providing scientific and evidence based analysis and technical expertise to member states. However there has been an increased approach by certain member states, which are at times antithetical to the established scientific method. The PSC may utilize tomorrow’s session to address this concerning trend. It may urge member states to strictly follow the guidelines developed by the WHO and Africa CDC when disseminating information on the prevention and management of the pandemic. Misguided and unscientific measures will put people in danger and worsen the level of infection. It is also important to note that given that COVID19 is a novel virus, the findings on the disease are still evolving.
While the expected outcome of the session is not known during the production of this ‘Insight’, it is expected to be a communique. The expectation is that the PSC will welcome the work of Africa CDC and express the importance of enhanced support for its work. The PSC could also underscore the importance and necessity of continental level investment not only for addressing COVID19 but also for dealing with future pandemics. The PSC could applaud the launch of the Partnership to Accelerate COVID19 Testing (PACT): Trace, Test & Track (CDC-T3) and urge that the efforts for scaling up testing are speeded up. The PSC may also call on the international community to ensure that Africa has market access to diagnostics and to this end restrictions on the export of medical materials should be lifted to allow Africa to have the necessary inputs for rolling out and scaling up testing, which is critical in the effort to contain the virus. It may reiterate its support to governments for their efforts in fighting COVID19 and urge them to continue exercising maximum caution as some of them ease the restrictions imposed as part of the effort to contain the spread of the virus. The PSC may urge member states to ensure that their COVID19 responses including provision of public health information are in line with the global and continental guidelines established by the WHO and Africa CDC.
Provisional Program of Work for the Month of May 2020
Amani Africa
Date | May 2020
Lesotho assumes the role of the monthly chairpersonship of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of May. The provisional program of work, involves some seven substantive sessions including five on COVID19 related agenda items.
On 6 May the PSC is expected to receive a virtual briefing by Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC) on the spread, control and implications of COVID-19 in Africa. This is the third VCT briefing on COVID-19 since the PSC adopted its new working methods. On 7 May, the PSC will hold a briefing on the situation in Somalia and consider the renewal of the mandate of the AMISOM, which expires on 27 May. The briefing will be circulated to all PSC Members through email and PSC Member States will send their inputs to the PSC Secretariat for the draft communiqué. The draft communiqué will then be circulated through silence procedure for its adoption in line with the Manual on PSC Working Methods.
On 12 May, the PSC will hold a session on the impact of COVID-19 on the security and welfare of children in Africa. This is in lieu of the annual thematic agenda on children affected by armed conflict, which normally takes place in an open session. For the purpose of this meeting however the PSC is expected to receive a virtual briefing from various presenters without an open session.
The next session is slated for 14 May when the PSC will consider and adopt its provisional programme of work for the month of June 2020. The Draft Provisional Programme of Work will be circulated to all PSC Member States, through emails, for their comments. This will also be held via email communications.
The PSC will receive a follow up briefing on the progress in controlling COVID-19 and its impact in Africa on 20 May. This meeting is expected to take place virtually and PSC Members will connect online.
The fifth substantive session of the month is scheduled for 22 May. This will be a briefing on the impact of COVID-19 on Living together in Peace. The first time the PSC considered Living together in Peace was in November 2019. At that time the format of the meeting was an open session. However, the briefing to this meeting will be circulated to all PSC Members through emails and PSC Member States will send their elements to the PSC Secretariat for the draft communiqué. The draft communiqué will then be circulated through silence procedure.
The third update of the month on the impact of COVID19 will take place on 27 May, but will focus on the impact on peace and security in Africa and is a follow up to the 918 session of the PSC. The PSC is expected to receive a virtual briefing. On 29 May, the PSC will hold its second country specific meeting of the month focusing on the situation in Darfur and the activities of UNAMID. The last time the PSC
considered this agenda item was in March 2020.
The last agenda item of the month is the briefing to the Permanent Representative Committee (PRC) on activities of the PSC during the month of May 2020. The compilation of activities of the PSC for May 2020, with a summary, will be sent to all AU member states.
New Peace and Security Council Working Methods During the COVID-19 Suspension of Physical Meetings
Amani Africa
28 | April, 2020
The measures required for containing the new global pandemic known as the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID19) require, among others, avoiding physical contact and observing social distancing. These measures necessitate the freezing of activities that bring together a group of people in one place. The result of this is that business meetings, political or religious gatherings are banned, schools are temporarily closed, and in some cases work stopped.
Briefing on the situation of IDPs, refugees and returnees in the COVID19 crisis
Amani Africa
Date | 28 April, 2020
Tomorrow (28 April) the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) is scheduled to hold a briefing on the situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Refugees and Returnees during the novel coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic. The meeting is expected to take place through VTC, making this the third PSC meeting to take place via VTC since the introduction of the new formats in early April.
The Commissioner for Political Affairs, Minata Samate Cessouma is expected to brief the Council.
The briefing by the Commissioner is expected to shed light on both the scale of Africa’s share of IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons and the impact of COVID19 on these categories of people in Africa. As highlighted in the briefing note that Cessouma shared with the PSC, there are more than 17 million IDPs, more than 7 million refugees and asylum seekers and about 72,000 stateless persons in the Africa.
Generally, IDPS, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are found in highly congested spaces such as IDP or refugee camps, which generally lack water and sanitation services. The recommended public health measures including social distancing, self-isolation, washing hands and sanitization of shared spaces are nearly impossible to implement in such spaces. Thus, it is particularly challenging to contain the spread of the virus in such congested IDP and refugee camps lacking space and access to safe water and adequate sanitation. Moreover, such population groups may also suffer from low level of immunity due to pre-existing conditions, hardships of displacement and malnutrition.
Another factor that makes the effort to prevent the spread of COVID19 among IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants is the fact that the majority of these population groups are in areas affected by conflict and violence. These in particular include the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin regions, the Great Lakes region, the Horn of Africa and parts of North Africa. According to the latest UN Secretary General report on West Africa and the Sahel there are about 10 million people in need of assistance in the Lake Chad basin and more than 2.5 million IDPs across the countries in the region. Even without COVID19 some of these places including the Sahel and Libya have become highly unsafe for these categories of people. In early April UNHCR has reported the attacks on around 25,000 Malian refugees, residing in camps near the border of Burkina Faso and Mali amid the COVID19 pandemic.
The compounded effects of the health emergency, violence and attacks on displaced communities as well as health facilities will be catastrophic and long lasting. An important aspect of the effort to protect IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants is therefore to ensure that some degree of cessation of hostilities is observed and health care facilities and humanitarian actors are protected from attacks.
There is also the issue of access to information, which is a key pillar of the policy response to contain COVID19 that enables individuals and communities to find ways of implementing such precautionary measures feasible for their conditions. The provision of public health awareness measures among IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants is also another area of interest for the PSC and its members.
Various factors including the weak capacities of the health systems of host countries in the continent, the huge resource requirements of the COVID19 response measures and the pressure of the public emergency mean that the response measures that member states of the AU mobilize generally focus on their citizens. The preparedness and response plans of states may not be tailored to cater for and spare limited capacities and resources for IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are thus at greater risk of being marginalized and unprotected.
Tomorrow’s session would thus be critical to draw attention to the vulnerability of these group of people and the imperative for mobilizing efforts for enhanced sanitation and hygiene services as well as overall prevention measures.
The Horn region is another conflict hotspot that may need particular attention by the PSC. The IGAD Extraordinary Summit held virtually on 3o March agreed to develop a regional response strategy, which also incorporates the protection of populations and special groups that experience challenges accessing the national health systems such as IDPs, refugees and migrants. It is essential that such initiatives at the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) level informs continental strategy and efforts and vice versa. The coordination and policy harmonization at national, regional and continental level is critical to effectively respond to the pandemic.
IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants will also be affected on account of the adverse impact of the disruption that COVID19 causes to humanitarian assistance. The limitation on movement have a direct effect on the delivery of aid and lifesaving assistance to communities that need it the most. Displaced population have urgent and continuous needs and any disruption of services to respond such needs poses an existential threat. The closure of borders and bans on international travel has also affected resettlement programs of refugees. The PSC may also consider how current measures taken by governments to contain the spread, including declaration of state of emergency, lockdowns and border closure may affect the safety of IDPs, refugees and returnees and their ability access information and assistance.
The PSC during its 918 session has stressed the need for protection and assistance of IDPs and refugees in camps and for stakeholders to scale up efforts on detection, testing and contact tracing as well as provision of assistance. Similarly, the Bureau of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government has also called for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to support vulnerable groups including refugees and IDPs in the context of current crisis.
A very concerning development that has emerged during this period is the mass deportation of asylum seekers and migrants, which could constitute breach of international human rights and refugee law norms. For example, at a time when capacities for quarantine and testing remains limited, it has been reported that thousands of Ethiopians have been deported from Saudi Arabia and Djibouti. The timing and conditions of deportation will further expose migrants to the virus and pose pressure and challenges to countries of origin, which are already overstretched in responding to the pandemic. Attacks on migrants or refugees on suspicion that they carry the virus such as the one that took place in China is also a major cause for concern.
The other expected effect is on the funding and resource allocation. Government’s capacity and that of the international partners is overstretched due to efforts channelled to address the health hazard and the socio-economic implications of COVID19. One of the concerns is that the response aimed at fighting COVID19 may reduce available resource for humanitarian action, which is already not meeting existing demand let alone the additional requirement for fighting COVID19 by humanitarian actors servicing IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.
Currently, there are no reported cases in IDPs or refugee camps in Africa. However, this may also be due to the limited capacity of many governments to undertake testing at a large scale. There is thus a need for acting proactively and putting in place measures that ensure that the virus is not spread in such places and, in cooperation with humanitarian actors, mechanisms are established for detecting, isolating and treating COVID19 cases.
The expected outcome is a communiqué.
It is expected that the PSC will acknowledge the particular vulnerability of IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants and the need for their protection. It could reiterate the outcome of its 918 session and urge host countries to ensure that their response measures also cater for the needs of these group of people, including most notably by putting in place a taskforce for coordinating with humanitarian actors and for mobilizing resources for implementing the public health response focusing on these group of people. The PSC may also reiterate the call of the AU Assembly Bureau for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to support vulnerable groups including refugees and IDPs in the context of current crisis and urge member states to ensure that their lockdown, curfews, state of emergency and border closure measures do not interfere with humanitarian access and assistance. The PSC may highlight the need and importance of implementing public health awareness services targeting in particular IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. To further buttress the efforts of national actors, the PSC may also call for contribution to the AU COVID19 Response Fund dedicated to the needs of these vulnerable population groups.
The PSC may also recall the call of the Chairperson of the Commission, Moussa Faki Mahammat and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres for cessation of hostilities and urge belligerents to comply with this call including most notably by avoiding fighting in areas where IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants and refraining from attacking humanitarian actors and health facilities. It may call humanitarian actors and donor countries to ensure that resources mobilized for catering for IDPs, refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are used for the lifesaving operations for which they are intended and additional resources are allocated for purposes of the COVID19 related needs of this population groups. It may urge countries to suspend the mass deportation of migrants and asylum seekers during this period in compliance with the human rights and refugee law principles and condemn the violence and attacks on refugees, IDPs and migrants including the attacks against African nationals that took place in China. It may also underscore the importance of the role of RECs/RMs including the initiative of IGAD and the need for coordination and policy coherence at the national, regional and continental levels.
