Weekly COVID-19 Regional updates – 9 June 2020:
Africa & Southern Africa:
Two months into the COVID-19 pandemic, ACLED takes stock of key trends in political violence and protest activity across Africa. This infographic is part of a special CDT Recap series reviewing eight weeks of data and analysis published as part of our COVID-19 Disorder Tracker:
As COVID-19 continues to spread across Southern Africa, governments are targeting journalists and media houses that are critical of their handling of the pandemic, Amnesty International warned today marking World Press Freedom Day:
OPEN LETTER TO THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY (SADC):
https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/AFR0323922020ENGLISH.pdf
40 million people in Southern Africa are at risk of increased hunger and poverty due to the double threat of the coronavirus and consecutive climatic shocks, warned Oxfam today:
https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/coronavirus-could-increase-hunger-over-40m-southern-africa
South Africa:
While most types of violence decreased following the coronavirus outbreak in South Africa, violence against civilians has more than doubled. ACLED Research Analyst Melissa Pavlik explores the spike in events. This infographic is part of our special CDT Spotlight series:
Zimbabwe:
Amid growing discontent over govt’s handling of COVID-19 crisis and food shortages, authorities targeted opposition figures and journalists, while rift within opposition widened. Opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) alleged security forces 13 May abducted MDC politician and MP Joana Mamombe and two other MDC female youth leaders who were protesting in capital Harare against govt’s failure to provide food and other assistance to those in need during COVID-19 lockdown, and later sexually assaulted them; Justice Minister Ziyambi 19 May said women were lying about abduction. Authorities 27 May charged Mamombe and MDC youth leaders for participating in protest despite COVID-19 ban on public gatherings and allegedly inciting “public violence”; court 28 May released them on bail. Police 22 May arrested journalists Frank Chikowore and Samuel Takawira, who were investigating MDC members’ abduction, for allegedly breaching COVID-19 social distancing rules; court 26 May released journalists on bail. Govt 16 May extended COVID-19 lockdown indefinitely. After Supreme Court late March declared Nelson Chamisa’s leadership of MDC illegitimate and appointed party’s former Deputy President Thokozani Khupe interim leader, Chamisa and Khupe continued to vie for control of party. Following request by MDC faction led by Khupe, parliament speaker 5 May expelled four Chamisa-aligned MPs from parliament, prompting Chamisa’s faction to suspend participation in parliament 7 May; High Court 29 May dismissed Chamisa’s appeal against speaker’s decision. Govt 5 May denied reports it had deployed troops to fight Islamist insurgency in neighbouring Mozambique (see Mozambique):
https://www.crisisgroup.org/crisiswatch/june-alerts-and-may-trends-2020#zimbabwe
-With the ?rst imported COVID-19 case reported on 20 March 2020, as of 10 June, 287 COVID-19 cases and 4 deaths have been con?rmed with the majority of new cases being returnees.
From 1 April to 9 June, 6,892 Zimbabwean migrants returned from neighbouring countries. Over 2,600 of them are quarantined in 60 centres in 10 provinces.
With 320,606 malaria cases and 307 deaths reported countrywide, there has been a significant decrease in weekly reported cases during the last four weeks.
A decrease of admission of children for acute malnutrition treatment has been recorded since April, with 50 per cent less children receiving vitamin A supplementation.:
https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/zimbabwe
Angola:
https://reliefweb.int/report/angola/covid-19-pandemic-impact-southern-africa
Eswatini:
Eswatini: Responding to COVID-19 in a country already fighting a dual HIV/TB epidemic: