Culture, health and well-being sit in places. Impact of COVID-19 on the African Society: geo-anthropological perspectives

Through an interdisciplinary contribution, the authors intend to propose an updated framework of the progressof the COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent and some critical reflections on various geopolitical andgeo-anthropological aspects concerning the new vulnerabilities associated with the pandemic crisis in Africa andthe importance of culture and its effects on well-being and health.The pandemic seems to have hit the African continent much less severely than the rest of the world, with amortality index (2,4%) lower than the global one (3,5%). The spread of the virus in this geographical area islargely underestimated because health care facilities do not have the tracking power that rich countries have,several factors show how Africa is managing to counter the impact of the pandemic. One reason could be theintervention of the immune capacity of a population exposed in the recent past to numerous other infectionsthat could have stimulated greater protection, both in terms of innate and acquired immunity. The dispersionof the rural population, which represents the majority of the African population (43%), could act as ageographical barrier to the virus. It is a complex picture where there are feelings of distrust between theinstitutions and the population on the management of the pandemic and the circulation of an excessive amountof data that creates confusion. In the African context, the need to understand the relationship between cultureand health becomes fundamental. If the role of cultural values is underestimated, the positive potential of cultureas a critical element for maintaining and improving health is negated. According to the World HealthOrganization, traditional medicine is the cornerstone of health care or its complement in the countries wherecommunity membership is most deeply rooted. In Africa, the World Health Organisation estimates that 85%of the population uses it because it is more widespread and accessible than traditional healing systems.