AFRICA’S GOVERNANCE RESPONSE TO COVID-19 | PRELIMINARY REPORT 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The APRM undertook the study in fulfilment of its mandate stipulated in the AU Assembly Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.631(XXVIII) on “Revitalisation of APRM, to track implementation and oversee monitoring and evaluation in key governance areas on the Continent”. The aim of the study was to place governance at the centre of the response to COVID-19. sectors, groups, and individuals that are increasingly being marginalised in their engagement. These limitations have also affected certain aspects of democratic processes and the wider civic life in countries where social containment measures have been introduced. Consequently, the quality of governance as understood in normal times may be diminished and the risk of further marginalising underrepresented groups may be heightened as the world contends with the COVID- 19 pandemic. The Report further highlights the implications of such immediate measures on elections, parliamentary processes and public accountability institutions. According to the Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC), the scale and magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa constitutes a cause for concern. At the time of publishing this report, North Africa was the most affected region, followed by West Africa and then Southern Africa. East and Central Africa were considered as the regions with the fewest confirmed cases. Lesotho and The Comoros were then cited as the only countries in Africa with no reported cases. The report also examines the processes whereby measures are imposed and implemented by AU member states at national levels. AU member states have either deployed existing legal and institutional mechanisms or established new ones to respond to the pandemic. The mechanisms thus introduced focus on i) legal and institutional measures; ii) disease prevention and containment measures, iii) social and humanitarian measures; and iv) fiscal and monetary measures. The report investigates the effectiveness of these measures, in terms of the following: ensuring desirable outcomes, impacting the enjoyment of human rights, ensuring equal treatment of citizens, and facilitating the accountability of government to the public. The purpose of this preliminary report is to provide content that can be used to enrich the debate on the governance response to COVID-19 on the continent. The report is not the final statement on the question of an effective governance response to the pandemic. It seeks to support the articulation of evidence-based governance responses in member states and to facilitate sharing of tested approaches on the governance response to COVID-19. Additionally, the report provides a basis for the assertion that an effective governance response would enhance the effectiveness of efforts in the public health, biomedical, economic and social spheres. At the continental and sub-regional levels, the report examines how Africa has responded to COVID-19, including the “Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 Outbreak”, centralised provision of technical support, multilateral approaches to resource mobilisation, and peace and security governance. As regards the sub-regional level Accordingly, therefore, this report explores the implications of immediate measures taken to contain COVID-19, which has placed operational constraints on institutions across public and private 13