The Hole in Africa's Heart: Africa's unrecognised, un-administered and under-administered territories.

                                    
A critical aspect of the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in many African countries is whether there are districts or regions that are either entirely un-administered by the authorities or are under-administered, for a variety of reasons. Regions that fall entirely outside the ambit of governments’ abilities to respond to the virus largely embrace those that fall under the control of separatist groups or rebels. Regions that are under-serviced fall into three, sometimes interlinked, categories:

 

1.    those which are difficult to reach because of their remoteness or arid/rugged terrain;

2.    poor rural areas which under-resourced governments battle to serve, even under normal conditions; and

3.    those from which state services including healthcare are deliberately withheld or restricted because their populations are viewed as hostile to the central state.

The lack of access to healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by millions of Africans as a result of living in ungoverned, under-serviced, rebel-controlled, or poorly-supported alternatively-administered regions raises a unique set of problems for governments, donor agencies, and healthcare professionals combating the novel Coronavirus. Accountability International believes that the sheer scale and persistence of this problem has caused many decision-makers at country and international levels to turn a blind eye to it – with the unfortunate result being the avoidance of the duty of care in this troublesome third of the continent. However, under numerous human rights, humanitarian, and healthcare conventions to which Africa’s governments are signatory – and to which alternate administrations and some though far from all rebel groups claim adherence – the people living in these zones deserve equitable access to universal healthcare including adequate COVID-19 testing, treatment, and care.
Date and Time:

Thursday 1st April 2021

11AM (East African Time)

10AM (Central African Time)

9AM (West African Time)


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