With a population estimated at 1,3 billion inhabitants, Africa is affected by COVID-19 at a time when several of its countries, despite the challenges of underdevelopment, are on a trajectory of emergence while others continue to face the fight against terrorism. COVID-19 thus slows down the momentum of some, worsens the situation of others and calls into question the efforts of all. In addition, it will put severe strain on already vulnerable national public health systems. Domestically, many countries have adopted quota plans to stem the spread of the virus. But the level of unpreparedness due to the sudden onset of the pandemic, its rapid evolution and the scale of needs clearly shows the limits of national measures. Added to this are the difficulties inherent in importing medical and pharmaceutical equipment needed to combat COVID-19, in a context of high demand and disruption of air traffic. If we want to win the fight against COVID-19, we will need to maintain response capabilities, including: 

- Have a sufficient quantity of medical and protective equipment and materials: test kits, masks, personal protective equipment;
- Develop and equip centers for the isolation and treatment of patients;
- Ensure early detection of cases of infection linked to CODIV-19 at reference sites;
- Ensure rapid isolation and treatment of suspected and confirmed cases of infection linked to CODIV-19;
- Strengthen infection prevention and control measures;
- Ensure good coordination of interventions.

It must be said that despite the efforts made so far, African countries have not yet reached the standards recommended by the World Health Organization in terms of health infrastructure and qualified personnel, the distribution of which still remains unequal to the detriment of the areas rural. Generally speaking, Africa's needs in the health sector are as follows: 

- Construction, rehabilitation and equipment of basic and reference health structures;
- Acquisition of heavy equipment and rolling stock: oxygen generators, scanners, angiography machines, medical ambulances, among others;
- Training of human resources of sufficient quality and quantity;
- Optimal use of ICT in the medical field (telemedicine and other applications);
- Networking of national expertise within and between countries;
- Creation of regional platforms to facilitate the deployment of emergency operations, like the Dakar platform which served as an air and logistics base during the Ebola crisis which struck certain African countries. the West;
- Support for initiatives for Bad CoverageSenegal numerique –or sanitary– universal.

Coming back to COVID-19, we must remember that we are in the presence of a pandemic, that is to say an epidemic on a global scale. Efforts so far carried out in the four corners of the planet have not yet made it possible to discover all the secrets of this great unknown which has finally revealed the limits of all national systems, even the most sophisticated. All the countries, surprised and overwhelmed, found themselves in a sort of hodgepodge, revealing each other's shortcomings on a daily basis. The first lesson to learn from this major crisis, where the infinitely small makes the whole world tremble, is that, faced with cross-border threats, big or small, rich or poor, we are all vulnerable. Second lesson, COVID-19 returns its own contradictions to the world. We are, in fact, living in an era of paradoxes. The earth is certainly round, but something, somewhere, is not going round. Man continues to make progress in all directions, pushing back the limits of science and technology every day, including in the conquest of space. Meanwhile, on earth, there is a shortage of masks, test kits, personal protective equipment, beds, ventilators; so many products, materials and equipment essential to the care of patients and the protection of health personnel, true heroes engaged at the front of a risky and potentially fatal fight against an enemy invisible to the naked eye. So it's time to come back to earth! Third lesson, finally, and without being exhaustive, the COVID-19 pandemic, just like, moreover, the perils of the environment and terrorism, confirms the objective limits of the Nation-State in responding to cross-border threats. Let us return to earth and return to the wisdom of our elders, as our compatriot Cheikh Hamidou Kane invites us to do, who, in his successful novel, L'Aventure Ambiguë, published 59 years ago, stated this premonitory message: “We We have not had the same past... but we will have the same future, strictly speaking... the time for singular destinies is over... no one can live on self-preservation alone. » (L'Aventure Ambiguë, page 92). This means that whatever its power and means, the Nation-State can no longer be sufficient in itself. Faced with global challenges, we all need each other, especially when our common vulnerabilities are added to our individual frailties. So, it is time to learn from our mistakes and our limits, to redefine the order of priorities, to restore full meaning to the real economy by investing more in agriculture, sustainable energy, infrastructure, health, education and training, to achieve development concerned with the well-being of the whole person. It is time to work together for the advent of a new world order which places humans and humanity at the forefront. heart of international relations. It is time to consider public health issues in the same way as peace, security, the environment, the fight against terrorism and other cross-border crimes. This new world order, which I am calling for, presupposes trust mutual and a sincere desire to cooperate on issues of common interest and shared values, while respecting our differences and our diversities. Above all, it postulates a new state of mind which recognizes that all cultures and all civilizations are of equal dignity; and that there cannot be a higher civilizational center which would dictate to others the way of being and acting. As African wisdom says, the rainbow owes its beauty to the varied tones of its colors. Brought back to global questions of public health, this new world order must exclude all forms of discrimination, stigmatization and prejudice, in particular towards our continent. Africa, cradle of humanity and land of ancient civilization, is not a no man's land. Nor can it offer itself as a land of guinea pigs. Exit also the catastrophic scenarios which strive to draw a future of apocalypse for the continent. This continent has undergone much more perilous and cruel trials. It has remained resilient and is standing more than ever! What is important today is rather to learn the lessons of the crisis and pool our means and our intelligence to cope, in the same spirit of human solidarity, to our common enemy: a silent killer who plays across borders, ideologies and differences between developed and developing countries. Despite its backwardness, Africa is full of quality human resources, including eminent competent experts, practitioners and researchers, who contribute to the progress of medicine on a daily basis. Senegal numeriques, which works in conjunction with corresponding national structures and qualified laboratories such as the Pasteur Institute in Dakar whose origins date back to 1896, the continent has a quality scientific network connected to the global alert and management system. international health crises. We must also salute the leadership of the World Health Organization. It would be more successful in its mission with a more substantial mobilization of resources in its favor, better support for its Alert and Action System, and more significant support for national public health systems. Economically, the crippling effects of COVID-19 are already being felt heavily globally. Africa, essentially an exporter of raw materials and an importer of finished and semi-finished products, is not left out. The developed countries most affected, to date, by the pandemic buy 51% of the continent's exports. The member countries of the European Union alone absorb nearly 40% of African exports. The drop in African exports to these countries would mainly affect hydrocarbons (oil and gas), copper and agricultural products. For imports, in addition to finished and semi-finished industrial products, Africa sources from abroad consumer products such as wheat, sugar, rice, oil, milk, etc. Any shortage or increase in prices on these products would therefore affect the continent. Due to quota measures linked to the closure of air, land and sea borders, the transport, tourism and hotel sectors are strongly impacted by Covid-19 . The African Economic Commission estimates these losses at 56 billion US dollars. Likewise, financial transfers from migrants are experiencing a drastic collapse. This means that if the impact of the crisis is global, the weakest economies are the most affected. In addition to the enormous investment needs for development, we will have to endure the shock of COVID-19 and for some African countries, continue to face a relentless fight against terrorism. According to initial estimates from the Economic Commission for Africa, the continent could lose at least 1,4% of growth (or US$29 billion) and would go from 3,2% to around 1,8%. According to our own assessments, that of Senegal will fall from 6,8% to less than 3%. Throughout the world, each country, depending on its capabilities, is taking measures to support its economy. Different instruments and mechanisms were used. For example, the European Union has suspended the budgetary discipline rule according to which the annual deficit must not exceed 3% of GDP. African countries are also mobilizing in the face of the crisis. Thus, Senegal has established an Economic and Social Resilience Program (PRES), with a total cost of 1000 billion FCFA, or approximately 2 billion US dollars, with a view to fighting the pandemic and supporting households, businesses and the diaspora. We have created a Response Fund against the Effects of COVID-19, FORCE-COVID-19, financed by the State and voluntary donations, to cover expenses linked to the implementation of the PRES. In exceptional situations, exceptional measures. The primary responsibility for confronting the crisis lies with us. We fully assume this. It is just and legitimate that our internal efforts be supported in the global context of responding to the crisis. Africa must not be left behind in a global fight against a global peril. This is the whole meaning of my call for the cancellation of African public debt and the reorganization of its private debt according to mechanisms to be agreed. Finally, I welcome the common African position adopted at the end of the videoconference meeting of the African Union Summit office extended to Ethiopia, Senegal and Rwanda, on April 3, 2020.

Macky SALL, President of the Republic of Senegal