Africa 54 - March 23, 2020

You are watching Africa 54, your daily news and feature magazine-style program, from the Voice of America. Host Esther Githui-Ewart and a team of correspondents zero in on the big stories making news on the continent and around the world with context and analysis. The global cases of the Coronavirus topped more than 320,000 on Sunday, with over 5,400 deaths in Italy and 1,700 in Spain. The first planeload of protective and medical equipment donated to Africa by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma arrived in Addis Ababa to help fight COVID-19. Africa, with 1.3 billion people has registered only 1,100 cases, spread across 43 countries, with 39 deaths. While that is a tiny fraction of the people infected and more than 13,000 deaths worldwide, there are concerns that Africa’s relatively poor health infrastructure means it cannot cope if the virus becomes established. The arrival of coronavirus in Kenya is changing the way religious services are conducted in the capital's diverse houses of worship.  Nairobi’s Catholics are refraining from using holy water, Muslims have stopped ritual cleansings, and Hindu temples are turning to live streaming their services.  The World Health Organization says contaminated water causes 500,000 deaths each year from diarrhea. Many more die from illnesses linked to poor sanitation, inadequate hygiene or dirty water. A California charity is addressing the problem in one of Africa’s poorest countries, Malawi. A54 Sports: Canada becomes the first country to say they will not attend the Tokyo games due to the global Coronavirus pandemic. Australia is telling its athletes to prepare for an Olympics next year as Japan and the International Olympic Committee flagged the prospect of a postponement for the first time. #Coronavirus #Africa #Kenya #WHO #Canada #Olympics