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US-Africa Coronavirus Fight Is Multi-Front Battle

Anita Powell

   JOHANNESBURG - The challenges faced by African nations during the
   coronavirus pandemic are about much more than a rapidly spreading
   virus, American aid officials say. They're concerned about the threats
   it poses to proper nutrition, the economy, liberties and freedoms, and
   the ongoing war against a deadly parasite that has plagued this
   continent for centuries: malaria.

   The U.S. has put in more than $1 billion toward helping other countries
   fight the coronavirus pandemic. By State Department estimates, more
   than a quarter of that money has gone to the African continent. And in
   2019, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State
   Department added another $8.3 billion of assistance to 47 countries.

   That may seem like a large sum, but USAID's senior coordinator for
   Africa, Christopher Runyan, enumerated the challenges they have to
   cover with those funds -- especially amid predictions that a viral
   spike is on its way for African nations.

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