#Data4COVID19 Africa Challenge: Interview Videos

This piece was originally published on the #Data4COVID19 Africa Challenge site. To learn more about our effort with the French Development Agency and Expertise France to support data-driven work to address COVID-19 across Africa, visit https://datachallenge.africa/.

Almost two years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic forced much of the world into lockdown. Numerous challenges have arisen since. COVID-19 has proven to be not just a health crisis but a crisis with social and economic components as well. The #Data4COVID19 Africa Challenge sought to provide institutions across Africa with the resources and support they needed to develop innovative data solutions to address these challenges.

Today, we are happy to release a series of videos that describe some of that work. Below are two video presentations of the challenge participants — many of them data scientists, health researchers, university professors, and institutional directors — describing how they used data to drive real-world action on the COVID-19 pandemic. Their testimonials provide important context on issues such as data access and quality in enabling work.

The first video includes statements from Tricia Govindasamy (Code4Africa), Luis Sagaon Teyssier (IRD and Arcad Santé Plus), and Daouda Coulibaly (National Institute of Public Hygiene of Côte d’Ivoire).

The second video includes statements from Fabrice Zapfack (data354 and the Félix Houphouët-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute), Jonathan Karl (Busara Center for Behavioral Economics), and Mouhamadou Lamine Ba (Alioune Diop University in Bambey).

Both videos highlight the skills and talent that exist across Africa. We hope you will watch them to understand the value of data in addressing challenges such as COVID-19.