The Irish Times World View Podcast

Coronavirus in Africa: "we've got two ventilators for 12 million people"

03.20.2020 - By The Irish TimesPlay

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Today we talk to Sinead Walsh. Sinead was Ireland's ambassador to Sierra Leone and Liberia during the 2014 Ebola outbreak and is currently the EU's ambassador to South Sudan.

South Sudan doesn't yet have its first confirmed case of Coronavirus, but is a country massively reliant on foreign aid. That's coming under threat from Coronavirus outbreaks elsewhere, as flights are cancelled and NGO staff are drawn back. And the virus is present in the surrounding countries, meaning its arrival there is only a matter of time. With only two ventilators for 12 million inhabitants, South Sudan woefully unprepared.

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