How Africa could benefit from outbreak

THERE have been suggestions within various scientific communities that the African region could be the next epicentre of the coronavirus.

For instance, scientists at Imperial College, London, recently predicted that not less than 300 000 coronavirus deaths could be recorded in Africa in the coming weeks if preventive measures are not put in place.

Some scientists have recently made the point that if a vaccine were to be developed, it would initially target the most vulnerable populations of the world, a euphemism commonly referring to poor countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa.

While most discussions have centred on Africa’s vulnerability, possible ways by which the region could benefit from the pandemic have not been adequately explored.

In 1977, John Dunning identified four reasons why business enterprises venture abroad: to seek natural resources; a market; strategic assets and greater efficiency.

This theoretical appreciation of business behaviour presents Africa with a lens through which it could conceive ways to benefit from the outbreak.

This is how. Consider medical research institutions as business units manufacturing products that need to be marketed to consumers – the sick and those who would like to boost their immunity to various diseases.

Research institutions currently racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines will initially need to test the products before they can be submitted to the regulatory agencies.

Because it has a substantial vulnerable population, Africa is a natural place to test newly-developed vaccines.

Therefore, it is not unlikely that a Covid-19 vaccine testing programme and roll-out could begin in Africa.

Africa could exploit its vulnerability appeal to researchers by inviting international medical research organisations to set up shop on the continent as a condition for using Africa’s huge population as a test laboratory and as a market for their vaccine innovations.

Africa is littered with medical research facilities that are not adequately funded, and currently lack effective research capacity. The conditional inflow of foreign investment by international researchers would boost Africa’s medical research capacity, making it better equipped for possible future disease outbreaks of this nature.

Scientific innovations emanating from the newly equipped state-ofthe-art facilities would be patented, wholly or partially, by the host African countries (this must be a condition for their acceptance into the country). Such patents could channel back some of the proceeds from the sale of such vaccines.

Africa would have some meaningful oversight of the quality of vaccines developed in its facilities, and would have a say about necessary safety measures to protect its population from potential harm; this would help to mitigate the phobia for vaccines currently permeating African society.

The universal application of lockdowns has barred African politicians from flying out for medical care, forcing them to share poorly-equipped domestic medical facilities with the general population.

This may incentivise them to re-examine their countries’ investment in health-care infrastructure.

Odongo is an associate professor in Finance at Wits University