Combating The Effects of COVID-19 With The Power of Entertainment

On February 14, 2020, amidst Valentine Day celebrations, exchange of gifts, hugs, kisses, and an immense show of love, Africa confirmed its first coronavirus case in Egypt, 25 days after the first case outside Mainland China was recorded.

In what now seems like an awkward coincidence given the incubation period of the virus, a first case was confirmed in Sub-Saharan Africa 14 days later, on February 28, 2020, in Nigeria.

As the virus spread and most countries on the African continent and beyond began to either lock down their entire country or the cities and states most affected by the pandemic, the reality of what we were facing as a planet started to dawn on the citizenry, panic spread and most people became aware for the first time, of the actual level of hardship that exists in their various countries.

In a country like Nigeria, where according to the National Bureau of Statistics, more than 40% of the country’s 180 million people are considered poor, a total lockdown of the country’s largest state, Lagos, proved difficult, as many of its trader citizens, who live on daily incomes needed huge support to survive and were willing to risk contracting the virus to keep selling their wares to make ends meet.

Business owners were left with the option of pivoting and finding ways to stay alive or succumb to the virus, lay-off staff and hope they can make a comeback when things return to normalcy. Schools also closed down and children with no technology access were completely cut off from the classroom.

For the most part, many people caught up in this gloomy situation have turned to their phone and TV screens for some relief.

Social media giant TikTok, well known for short funny videos from content creators worldwide, has noticed the largest usage on their platform, with 800 million active users currently according to Oberlo, most of who are between 16 and 24. People are also spending an average of 52 minutes daily on the platform, just to get some entertainment and forget the worries of the pandemic.

Businesses, on the other hand, have kept their consumers engaged with various fun chats and topical discussions on Instagram Live as well as some other webinar platforms, while social influencers have generated online challenge after online challenge to keep their followers engaged and help some of them cope with the boredom this period has brought.

Thanks to the communal spirit of some people who took a step further to take some of the entertainment to the streets and even aid government efforts to ensure everyone and every business stood a survival chance and could see a path to recovery, things seem to be changing for the better. But for many of the people on the frontlines, there doesn’t seem to be an all-clear or a sense of lesser risks.

Across Africa, the outbreak of the virus brought about a closer look into the healthcare provisions of various countries, and the consensus has become that our health workers are at a huge disadvantage, not because they are our first line of defense against the virus, but because many of them are ill-equipped to perform their duties.

According to a news report on AfricaNews, there have been 129,452 recorded coronavirus cases, 53,400 recoveries, and 3792 deaths on the African continent to date. While many including the World Health Organization (WHO) chief, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, have praised African healthcare workers for helping the continent remain the least infected using their experience from tackling other infectious diseases, everyone recognizes that they still require a lot of support to further secure the continent.

During difficult times, people often fall back to the things that unite them and bring them hope, like music. In 1985 when famine became an issue across some African nations, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Richie wrote the benefit single – ‘We Are The World’, which sold over 20 million copies, and helped raise funds for the African famine relief to support starving children. 25 years later, a remake of that single proved helpful in Haiti’s fight to recover from a devastating earthquake.

Things like that, and other simple acts of sharing, whether it be a meal, a smile, life-saving information, or some words of encouragement are essential to keep hope alive. Those moments of laughter and gratitude from doing simple things keep many sane and optimistic.

On the African continent particularly, entertainment remains a huge source of happiness. Africans value their stories, the melodies that go with them, and the opportunity one story gives to another to come to fore. This phenomenon is what MultiChoice Africa has harnessed over the last two and a half decades, growing to become Africa’s biggest and most loved storyteller. The video entertainment provider has always played the role of enriching lives by making great entertainment more accessible to millions of people across Africa and supporting those who create these stories to grow and become more independent.

The platform the company has gained over the years makes it a very strong voice, and this Sunday, it hopes to use that voice to spread hope and bring people even closer.

Together with the One Africa Global Foundation, MultiChoice Africa will on May 31, 2020 broadcast the COVID-19 Hope For Africa Benefit Concert, which will be an entertainment showcase of the best music talent across the African continent.

The benefit concert is geared at supporting the continent’s fight against the pandemic and will feature top music artistes, movie and TV personalities and presenters such as 2Baba (Nigeria), Adina (Ghana), Bombshell (Zambia), Bovi (Nigeria), Dakore Egbuson-Akande (Nigeria), Davido (Nigeria), DJ Spinall (Nigeria), DJ Vivian (Uganda), Efya (Ghana), Falz (Nigeria), Flavor (Nigeria), Jose Chameleone (Uganda), Keche (Ghana), Ladipoe (Nigeria), Lij Michael (Ethiopia), Mawuli Gavor, (Ghana), Mr 2Kay (Nigeria), Nandy (Tanzania), Osas Ighodaro (Nigeria), Sarkodie (Ghana), Scientific (Liberia), Stonebwoy (Ghana), Tekno (Nigeria), Tiwa Savage (Nigeria), The Ben (Rwanda), Waje (Nigeria), Wanjira Longauer, (Kenya) and Yasirah Bhelz (South Africa)

The 3-hour televised special which will kick off by 7pm WAT, is expected to be broadcast across 49 countries on Africa Magic Family (DStv Ch. 154 and GOtv Ch. 2), and will also feature goodwill messages of hope and encouragement by past and current leaders, health workers and COVID-19 survivors.

With this move, MultiChoice Africa will hope that it can once again bring a unique entertainment experience to her audience even while they stay safely at home, but more importantly crowdsource over 50 million personal protective equipment, more than 5000 testing kits and remind the continent that the only way we can defeat the pandemic is together.