‘People Are Scared’: U.S. Officials in Africa Fight a Resurgent COVID-19

A morgue attendant at the Pretoria branch of the South African funeral and burial services company Avbob stands next to the body of a patient who died from COVID-19-related illnesses as a coffin is brought along ahead of his burial on Jan. 22. Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images

Aid officials posted at U.S. embassies across southern Africa are raising dire warnings to Washington about the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the region, asking for urgent guidance from senior aid officials amid a surge in cases thought to be driven by the hypercontagious South African variant and strained health care systems. 

Internal memos and emails sent late January and obtained by Foreign Policy detail how U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) missions in southern Africa are grappling with low morale and staff shortages due to illness and that at least three USAID members of staff in the region have died from COVID-19 as well as several staff members from local partner organizations.