South Africa has had more cases of COVID-19 and more deaths than any African country. We asked students in South Africa how it has affected them.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit South Africa hard. It is the African country with the highest number of cases (1,566,769) and deaths (53,736), according to Johns Hopkins University.

To report on the situation, raise awareness and fight against misconceptions, we decided to make a short documentary about the disease’s impact in South Africa.

By interviewing young South African students at our school, the African Leadership Academy, we were able to get a better sense of how the pandemic has changed their lives, affected their academic performance and marked their experience as citizens of the country.

Three questions to consider:

  1. Why do you think South Africa has had more deaths from COVID-19 than any African country?
  2. How has your country handled the pandemic?
  3. What must the world do to prepare for the next pandemic?
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Elizabeth Tina Fornah is from Sierre Leone and in her first year at the African Leadership Academy, taking Chemistry and Economics  and pursuing Pharmaceutical Engineering.

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Imane El Amri is from Morocco and in her first year at the African Leadership Academy taking Chemistry,  Biology and Math. A member of the News Decoder club at school, she plans to study Biochemistry after finishing ALA and to pursue a career in public health education.

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Yvan N’guettia is from Côte d’Ivoire and in his first year at the African Leadership Academy. He is a volunteering tutor at BigDream NGO and a member of U-Report Côte d’Ivoire. He is passionate about STEM and Politics, and aspires to become a diplomat to build strong political institutions in Africa and to nurture prosperity. He enjoys computer programming and coding.

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Varlee Fofana is a Liberian in his first year at the African Leadership Academy. He won first prize in News Decoder’s most recent Storytelling Contest. At ALA, he is studying Economics and History. He plans to pursue a university degree in Economics. He is a contributor to Global Youth & News Media’s World Teenage Reporting Project > Tolerance Profile Challenge.

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WorldAfricaCOVID-19 has hit South Africa hard. These students tell how.