Digital contact-tracing and pandemics: Institutional and technological preparedness in Africa

Citation

Arakpogun EO, Elsahn Z, Prime KS, Gerli P & Olan F (2020) Digital contact-tracing and pandemics: Institutional and technological preparedness in Africa. World Development, 136, Art. No.: 105105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105105

Abstract
Several countries in Africa have either deployed or considering using digital contact-tracing (DCT) as part of their Covid-19 containment strategy, amidst calls for the use of technology to improve the efficiency of traditional contact-tracing. We discuss some of the complexities entailed in using DCT in Africa. Adopting a socio-technical perspective, we argue that if DCT design and deployment are not well thought out, it can lead to unintended consequences, particularly in a continent like Africa with disproportionate levels of digital divides and other structural inequalities. We suggest that any adoption of DCT by African countries must take account of their compatibility with local resources, values, social structure, and domestic political factors. Accordingly, we propose a process of translation whereby DCT adaptation is made to accommodate the unique institutional and technological characteristics of African countries by leveraging local practices learned from previous pandemics like Ebola to develop a blended epidemiological approach to (digital) contact-tracing.

Keywords
Africa; Contact-tracing; Covid-19; Institutions, Pandemic; Socio-technical perspective

Journal
World Development: Volume 136