COVID-19 Conflict & Resilience Monitor – 1 December 2021

Although Africa is the least indebted region when judged against GDP or per capita, it is the most affected by sovereign debt pressure, it also contributes the least greenhouse emissions but is the most affected by climate change. So, the sad paradox of Africa being the least infected by COVID-19 but most damaged by its impact is no surprise.

Uganda has had a string of terror attacks lately. The most recent bombings took place in Kampala’s central business district and were claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. Tensions have been increasing across the border too, in Kenya. The government has instructed security agencies to be more vigilant.

On 24 November 2021, news about the ‘Botswana Variant,” now known as Omicron, which is said to have 32 mutations, was reported by Mail Online and other international news media. Botswana thus became one of the 11 countries in the world to record cases of this COVID-19 new variant. The new Omicron variant is still being studied by scientists, and its transmissibility and severity, compared to the previous Delta variant, is yet to be determined. 

The timing of the COVID-19 pandemic has placed Mozambique in a situation where both citizens and the state need to rapidly develop resilience skills and coping mechanisms. Cyclones Idai and Kenneth struck in 2019 leaving roughly 2.2 million Mozambicans in need of humanitarian aid, which further contributed to the hardships experienced by people.