COVID-19 AND AFROCENTRIC PERSPECTIVES: HEALTH AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS
Proceedings of the International Conference of the Association for the Promotion of African Studies on the Impact of Covid-19 on Africa and the Quest for Afrocentric Perspectives 17th September, 2020
EDITORS
Ikechukwu Anthony Kanu
Chiugo C. Kanu
Ejikemeuwa J. O. Ndubisi
First Published in 2021
A publication of The Association for the Promotion of African Studies
COPYRIGHT © 2021 by The Association for the Promotion of African Studies
ISBN: 978-978-988-732-3
INTRODUCTION
It can be said that for some decades now, the human ingenuity has never been seriously put to question except for the year 2020. The year, 2020, is a year that can never be forgotten in hurry. It is a year the continued existence of humanity was seriously interrogated. It is a year of COVID-19!
Towards the later part of 2019, precisely in November, a very deadly virus struck the city of Wuhan in China. Just like a wild fire, the virus spread to other parts of the world. Many lives were lost in a twinkling of an eye. Fear, panic and sorrow gripped everybody on the face of the earth. Both the scientists and the religious believers, the rich and poor, the educated and the uneducated – all felt the excruciating impacts of COVID-19. Every passing day, we received the news of thousands and millions of people that died as a result of COVID-19 across the globe. At present, COVID-19 seemed to have no cure. Its adverse effects appeared to have overpowered, at the time, the ingenuity and expertise of our medical and health practitioners and researchers. The world appeared to be helpless in the face of the rising number of COVID-19 deaths. Some people felt the world was coming to end.
In the midst of the tensions and confusions created by the dreaded Corona Virus Disease 2019, the Association for the Promotion of African Studies (APAS), in collaboration with FEEDBACKHALL, gathered scholars across the African nations to brainstorm on the theme: The Impact of COVID-19 on Africa: Opportunities, Challenges and Solutions. The conference was held virtually on 17th September, 2020.
The book in your hands is one of the proceeds of the said APAS conference. As Africans, APAS scholars believe that there are Afrocentric perspectives to the health and economic challenges posed by the dreaded COVID-19. Arguably, from varied points of view, individual authors outlined some health and economic implications of COVID-19 on African nations. Some solutions and recommendations are also made in this regard. It is strongly believed that this book will bring a turnaround in African health and economic sectors especially in a period of pandemic such as COVID-19.
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
