Defending open societies in the context of COVID-19 : the role of philanthropic foundations in responding to the pandemic and the case of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa

Abstract

INTRODUCTION When COVID-19 broke out in China in late 2019, news of how the heavy-handed response by the Chinese government trickled out sparsely, because the information was carefully regulated. The spread of the virus to Europe and the US provided an opportunity for different national experiences and responses to the pandemic. The US and Italy’s laissez-faire response was the opposite of China’s and counter to recommendations by health experts who called for restrictive measures on the population to contain the pandemic. Africa’s primary response to the pandemic was essentially a health and medical one. Africa had the opportunity of being last in line, having not only learnt from China, the US and Europe, but also having the benefit of a better understanding of the virus by scientists. When the pandemic landed in Africa, it found countries already suffering from weak capacities in all spheres – especially health. Hobbled by many years of corruption, poor investments, poor policies, and weak governance it was always clear that COVID-19 threatened to devastate countries in the region.