eastern part of the continent, the situation is even more acute.
Thus, traffic on the route that leads to Yemen from the Horn of
Africa has been reduced by 74% between March and April.
THE MOST VULNERABLE
The situation of these migrants, most of whom are in the hands
of mafias to whom they have given all their savings, may become
critical and many will have no choice but to try to reach their dream
destinations no matter how. Furthermore, we must not forget that
Africa has currently recorded more than 25 million people as
displaced due to conflicts and insecurity. The majority of these
displaced persons come from countries such as the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan,
Nigeria, the Central African Republic and Cameroon. Many of
these refugees live poorly in overcrowded temporary settlements
that make these populations highly vulnerable to the spread of
diseases such as the coronavirus.
On the other hand, the spread of the pandemic in Africa still
creates great uncertainty in a continent with a population of about
1.3 billion people and which, according to a 2016 study, is home to
22 of the 25 countries most vulnerable to infectious diseases.
The WHO is pessimistic about the evolution of the virus on the
continent and forecasts that it will be the cause of tens of thousands
of African deaths, despite the fact that, at the time of going to press,
the statistics of the disease on the continent “only” show 397,942
confirmed cases and 7,415 deaths, although these figures are still
growing. It is clear that, so far, the impact of the disease is much
lower than in other regions. For instance, Europe, with a population
of just over 740 million people, has already recorded 2,827,789
cases and 201,255 deaths.
Africa is obviously not prepared to fight a pandemic like this.
In fact, no continent was ready, but the deficiencies in the African
The pandemic creates uncertainties in Africa as it is the
most vulnerable continent to infectious diseases
32 Revista Española de Defensa August 2020
Ángel Medina/EFE