COVID-19 Blog

Charlie McGill
Mr. Roddy
GPHC
3/27/2020

COVID-19--Should Rich Countries Help Developing Countries With Their Fight Against the Pandemic?

With COVID-19 shutting down most of Europe, Asia, and the Americas, it's only a matter of time until the virus infects Africa as well. Although Africa doesn't have many confirmed cases, projections show that they will begin seeing an exceptional rise in infected persons right around the time that COVID-19 begins to plateau or decline in Europe and North America. How Africa will fare is still a mystery. On one hand, they have the most experience in dealing with pandemics; Ebola is still ravaging Africa, and many people are predicting that the measures in place to counter Ebola will also reduce the amount of coronavirus infections. However, Africa is a developing continent with poor healthcare infrastructure and impoverished communities, which means many people won't receive treatment. This could lead to further spreading of the disease, exacerbating the economic and healthcare issues Africa faces everyday. The spreading of coronavirus would not be confined to Africa; Europe, Asia, and the Americas could see coronavirus return to their countries just weeks after they begin to win the fight against the pandemic. 

I believe that rich countries should, and will, step in and help Africa respond to COVID-19 in order to preserve public health and the global economy. Most countries in North America, Europe, and Asia have had to spend exorbitant amounts of money in their own countries, and the global economy is plunging, which makes me worry that rich countries won't have the economic stability to aid Africa. However, I refer to them as rich countries for a reason; even in times of economic insecurity, countries such as the United States, Germany, France, and China are far wealthier than any state in Africa. Despite the questions surrounding the economic possibility of wealthy countries helping Africa, they will likely do it to preserve public health and their own economies. Not only would a second wave of the novel coronavirus take lives, but the economic devastation it would cause would kill as well. The United States hasn't hit its peak in infected persons yet, yet 3,000,000 people have already filed for unemployment. By the end of this crisis, it is estimated that up to 30% of the country could be unemployed. A second wave of COVID-19 would kick us while we're down, and cause more deaths through another purge of the economy. Rich countries aiding Africa, and therefore stopping a second wave of coronavirus, is the right thing to do. I believe that whenever a government, a person, or an organization can save lives, they should do so. Africa can't be left on its own to fight coronavirus since they lack the infrastructure to do so. If they are not aided, Europe, Asia, and America will definitely see COVID-19 cases begin to increase once more. The second fight against coronavirus would cost more than simply sending aid to Africa, and it would take the lives of even more people. For this reason, countries with developed economies will help Africa; after all, it is in their best interest to do so. 

Comments

Eleanor Carter said…
This was a very well written response. I agree that countries with a stronger economies should be helping poorer countries. But I also worry about the global economy as a whole, and how we will recover after this. I think what we need to be doing right now in third world countries, and in countries that don't have the resources that we do, is to be educating officials and doctors in how to care for the public health. We need to be examining globally what as worked best, and be applying those tactics in the areas that may need the most help.
March 28, 2020 at 4:22 PM
Liam O'Gorman said…
This is a well written blog. I will say, as simple and morally pure your doctrine of "save lives whenever possible" may sound, its implications are often questionable. This doctrine has been used to justify countless foreign engagements, including the Iraq War and other bloody military conflicts. I believe we must ask ourselves: do we trust our government to meddle internationally with pure intentions? To me the answer is no. I believe that we, as people, should be compassionate to our global brothers and sisters. But the United States of America, being its own entity, cannot currently be trusted at this moment. Look at how it has handled our domestic response! I say let's sort that out first.
March 30, 2020 at 12:41 PM
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