Global Health Care Infrastructure and Africa in Times of COVID-19: Insights for Sustainable Development and Future Pandemics

Abstract

This exploratory study aims to assess Africa's lagging position in global heath in relation to some health care infrastructure before critically examining the situation of Africa in the light of pressing Covid-19 healthcare infrastructural needs in terms of number of hospital beds, intensive care units (ICU) beds and ventilators per 100 000 people. A comparative analysis is provided to showcase which regions are leading in the health facilities in the world in general and Africa in particular as well as countries that are lagging in the attendant healthcare facilities. Analytical insights are provided to illustrate that the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed how Africa cannot reach most Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG-3 on health and wellbeing. Moreover, corresponding inferences suggest that the continent is unprepared for future pandemics in terms of health facilities.

Health Vulnerability Versus Economic Resilience to the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…The position of the developed countries in the better quadrant could be explained by the fact that these countries have comparatively better healthcare infrastructure with which to face the pandemic, contrarily to developing countries where COVID‐19 highlights another crisis related to the lack of healthcare infrastructure. For example, Diop and Asongu (2020b) find that African countries are still not prepared for another health crisis because they are still characterized by a lack of infrastructure and care facilities.…”