Odi Live Events Podcast

'What if some African governments are doing a better job than our own of managing the coronavirus?' (New Yorker, May 2020) Covid-19 has gripped the world, shaken the multilateral system and caused widespread uncertainty. One thing remains clear, there is no going back and adaptations will need to be made to shift towards a new normal. The key to this will be developing new forms of cooperation between countries and communities around the globe. Early signs from Africa are that in many countries the response to Covid-19 has been effective – perhaps because they were able learn from how the pandemic unfolded across the world from China to Italy and through Europe. But contrary to commonplace narratives about aiding Africa, recent events highlight opportunities for Europe and elsewhere to learn from Africa. Beyond the immediate response to the pandemic, countries across Africa will face considerable challenges in the recovery, with an urgent need to finance weakened economies and to adapt existing approaches