8 | FORBES AFRICA APRIL 2020
EDITOR’SNOTE
FORBES AFRICA
FORBESAFRICA.COM
Views expressedbycommentatorsin thispublicationarenotnecessarilythoseheldbyFORBESAFRICAoritsmembersofstaff.Allfactsprintedin FORBESAFRICAwereconfirmed as being
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RENUKAMETHIL,
MANAGING EDITOR
P
RINTWILLNEVERBEABLETOKEEPUPWITH
thenumbers.
Thisseemstobea virusthathasreareditsuglyhead
specificallyforthedigitalage,withdramaticallyincreasing
numbersthatevennewswebsitesarestrugglingtokeepupwith,and
spreadingevenfasterthanyoucanmutterthefulltrilogyoftermsassoci-
atedwithit – Coronavirus,Covid-19,andSARS-CoV-2.
Africahasbeenhittoo,andtheexponentialcurveis notlookinggood.
Atthetimeofgoingtopress,SouthAfrica,forexample,reported 116
confirmedcases.Bythetimethismagazineis out,thatfigurecouldhave
morethanquintupled.
Theall-pervasive,anti-socialvirusthattookusoff-guard,disrupting
livesandlivelihoodstheworldoveratthestartofthisdecade,hasde-
mandedextraordinaryresponsestoa realitythathaslongsincereached
pandemicproportions.Andaseconomiesslideandglobalmarketsface
seismicshocks,scienceis diggingintoitsarsenalforaneffectivecure.
Themenandwomenatthefrontlinesdispensingtheseintensepublic
healthinterventionsaretherealheroesofthesevirulenttimes,asthey
tendtousandthedisabled,thepoor,thehomelessandtheelderlywho
arenodoubtthemostvulnerable.
“Our concern will be if the virus affects the less fortunate living in
crowdedareaswithpooraccesstoeducation,sanitationandhealthcare.
Whatwehavelearnedfromcolleaguesinothercountriesis thatif weasa
nationpulltogetherbypractisingsafetymeasures,socialdistancing,and
goodmedicalcarewithsoundguidancefromourleaders,wecan‘flatten
thecurve’andreducethepotentialhazardousoutcomeseeninother
countries,”offersDrYvetteLazarus,a specialistphysicianandrheuma-
tologistbasedinJohannesburg.
AswebraceforloweringGDPforecasts,UnitedNations’economists
estimatetheviruscouldcosttheglobaleconomyatleast$1trillionthis
year– andperhapsmore.
Desperatetimescallfordesperatemeasures,andtherewillbemas-
sivesocietalshifts,duringandafterweemergeontheothersideofthe
tunnelinthecoronaconundrum.
Surely,therewillbea pre-Covid19andpost-Covid19era,whenthe
words‘self-isolation’and‘socialdistancing’willbecommonparlance,
andwewillnevertakefor-grantedtheairwebreathe.
Ina sense,theravagedplanetseemstohavelostitsimmunityto
protectitself.
Yet,alarmistviewsaside,thereis nobettertimethannowforyouth
andtechnologytospawnnewideasandindustries.Inadditiontothelat-
estthinkinginmedicalresearch,newenterprisewillemerge.
Andsoit is thatthisissueofFORBESAFRICAis devotedtothe
brightestmindsontheplanet’syoungestcontinent.
The 2020 FORBESAFRICA 30 Under 30 listis thesixthoutingof
thisannualcompilationandfocusesontheyoungmenandwomenblaz-
ingthepathandbeingprimedtotackleglobalcrisessuchasthis.
“WhiletheCovid-19pandemichasexposedthefragilityoftheworld’s
economicandfinancialsystemstotherapidonsetofa globalhealth
crisis,it alsopresentsa newsetofopportunitiesfortechnologyandin-
novation,especiallyinAfricawheremobiletechnologyprovidesaccess
topreviouslyhard-to-reach,vulnerablepopulations,”saysNthabiseng
Mosia,FounderofEasySolarinSierraLeoneandalsoa 2019FORBES
AFRICA 30 Under 30 member.
Wearefacinga threatunlikeanyotherinourlifetimeandthereis
a needforsharedresponsibilityasa humanfamilyfightinga common
enemy;thisis a timewhentruecollaborationsmustcomeintoforce,
betweenrulingpartiesandtheopposition,thepublicandprivatesectors,
economistsandepidemiologists,science and humanity, friends and foes.
May the human spirit prevail!
HUMANITY IN
THE TIME
OF CORONA