Coronavirus in the Congo: no face masks or running water, and little money – so Hong Kong doctor turns to song to combat Covid-19
- Lacking medical and sanitary supplies for people who often live in cramped homes without running water, Dr Joyce Samoutou-Wong had to be creative
- The Hongkonger helped write a catchy song about social distancing, washing hands and symptoms of Covid-19 to get word out about how to face the disease threat
As the coronavirus spreads around the world, sending billions of people into lockdown, communities have reacted by panic buying, stripping supermarket shelves of essential goods.
That has not happened in the Republic of the Congo. When people in the central African country were ordered to enter a 30-day lockdown this week, most did not have the cash to stockpile goods.
It’s just one of the shocking and heartbreaking realities people fighting the Covid-19 disease in poor countries face when compared to those in the developed world.
In the West, social media is flooded with memes and reminders about the now well-practised mantra of frequent handwashing with soap, self-isolation and wearing a mask if you are ill, but for those in the Republic of the Congo these basic preventive measures are difficult, often impossible, to follow.
“Most people here don’t have access to running water. When you have a family of eight or nine living in a two-bedroom place, self-isolation isn’t possible. And masks? They aren’t available, full stop,” says Dr Joyce Samoutou-Wong, a missionary doctor and co-founder of the New Sight Eye Care charity in Ouésso, in the north of the country.
The devout Christian was born and raised in Hong Kong, and attended Diocesan Girls’ School before winning a scholarship to study in Britain. While studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh, she went to Africa in 2000 for a two-month work-experience stint in her fifth year.