MAL38:20 | Page 4

FIRST WORD
FIRST WORD
Contact
Marketing Africa limited P . O . Box 36481- 00200 , 3rd Floor , Northstar Building , Lenana Road , Kilimani . Cell : + 254 - 717 - 529 052 Email : Info @ marketingafrica . co . ke NAIROBI - KENYA
Marketing Africa Team
William Kalombo , Mutua Mutua , Allan Muraya , Fred Ombati , Sebastian Bungei
Editorial Contributors
Mutua Mutua Herman Githinji Lorraine Kirigia Irene Mbonge Diana Obath Tom Simba Dr . Wale Akinyemi Charles Mungai Moses Kemibaro Richard Wanjohi Christian Masika Boniface Ngahu Carolyne Gathuru Marion Wakahe Pauline Warui Wasilwa Miriongi Dr . Maureen Owiti Joseph Lunani Gordon Odundo Thrity Engineer-Mbuthia Senorine Wasike Nicholas Gachara Dr . Catherine Ngahu Kepha Nyanumba Dr . Clifford Ferguson Vincent Oduor Katya Nyangi Samson Osero Joe Nyutu Dr . Kellen Kiambati
Marketing Africa Magazine is published by Marketing Africa Limited . Views expressed in the articles and contributions are not neccessarily those of the publisher . The Publisher reserves all rights .
Material may only be reproduced with prior arrangement and due acknowledgement to Marketing Africa Magazine .
Feedback
E : info @ marketingafrica . co . ke W : www . marketingafrica . co . ke @ MarketingAfrica Marketing Africa

On The Corona Curve

In March this year we were introduced to new protocols that

included washing our hands and sanitizing , keeping a prescribed social distance from one another and to wear a mask in public . These measures , we were told , were to enable us flatten the curve .
The highly infectious corona virus that had been first identified in a little known town in China was apparently fast spreading around the world and since there was no known cure for the Covid-19 disease , that it caused , drastic measures had to be taken to stop its spread .
There was a lockdown in Wuhan and from the images that we saw from the media it appeared like aliens had invaded the city as people were not allowed in or out of the town and an elaborate fumigation exercise was undertaken to flatten the infection curve .
Little did the world realize that that particular incidence that commenced in that far off Chinese city would throw the whole world into a unprecedented crisis that would redefine how we live and relate to one another in our everyday lives .
Very soon after those disturbing images from China the whole world would be grappling with measures to flatten the curve , which were really measures to ensure that fragile health systems would not be swamped and collapse .
If ever there was a classic example of the Black Swan Theory this was it . The virus was sudden and to a large extent unforeseen especially in developed countries and it had extreme and unpredictable consequences that reverberated globally .
The first measure taken to stop the spread of the disease was to stop international travel with the airline travel being the first casualty . The whole world locked itself in and turned to its scientific community to get direction as to how to contain the virus internally .
That novel virus had a devastating effect on the tourism and leisure industry in the world and the associated massive job losses . The stay at home requirement that was to follow wiped out jobs and livelihoods .
Significantly the United States lost its perch as the global opinion leader as they were also struggling to contain the virus and mishandled the pandemic to such an extent that other countries that looked up to the United States for direction were left confused .
Seven months down the line the world is still clueless as to how to handle this virus and they do not have a unified approach to finding a solution to the pandemic . The virus continues to wreak havoc in the world and there is still no vaccine in site for the disease .
Given the seismic effect the virus had on the world at large it is disturbing to note that for a cabal of Kenyan tenderpreneurs this was just another god sent opportunity to fleece the national coffers under the guise of fighting the virus .
We do not know why or how Africa was saved from the brunt of the epidemic and defied the gruesome models that had been predicting
02 MAL38 / 20 ISSUE