The unsavory reporting by western media over the management of COVID-19 by African communities is exactly what prompted @tedoex and I to start Taking Into Account. Case numbers and fatalities remain low compared to the rest of the world much to the dismay of white people 1/n https://twitter.com/bbcafrica/status/1301298213190762503

As a scientist myself, I can appreciate why data trends prompt questions in order to make sense of what’s happening but, it’s not lost on me & my community how racist and imperialist attitudes have and are still influencing this violent approach to studying black populations 2/n

The COVID-19 pandemic is global I.e EVERYBODY has to worry about it and countries have taken to nationalized (forgive my pedestrian terminology) management. No overarching policy by regional groups like SADC, ECOWAS even EU etc. the trends in cases are baffling everyone

We know a great deal about the structure of SARS-Cov-2 and the mechanism of infection but not relationship between infection and genetics. In Western countries black people are more affected despite being minority population however the opposite is seen in Africa (majority black)

Poverty is NOT the reason for the trends. Africans (black pple) are more than capable of managing pandemics cz we are also always fighting something. These colonial attitudes towards communities that could have answers is certainly going to hamper efforts to manage the pandemic

The article also never bothered to speak to black scientists such as @Christian_happi who helped to contain the Ebola outbreak and is also at the front lines of COVID-19 genomic work (Taking Into Account Guest Episode 5). Goodluck bringing the community into clinical trials

Anyway, on my podcast with @tedoex, Taking Into Account, we dissect the science around COVID-19 and the socio-economic issues & innovations in African communities with people on the ground. Our podcast is built on decolonization and we tell our (African) stories as they should be

2020 media is asking “why aren’t blacks dying?”

A couple of years ago when manufacturers of generic medicines in India were buckling QC protocols and sending defective medicine to Africa and South America, Ranbaxy executives said “why does it matter, it is just blacks dying”

This reporting and the relationship between science and black communities is important to note. It’s informed by racism, imperialism and capitalism. This is relevant because it is related to #BlackLivesMatter because they matter outside of USA